The Effect of Socialization Practices and Onboarding on Newcomer Adjustment and Turnover Intention

Authors

Alex George Vilayil, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration

Major/Program

<--Please Select Department-->

First Advisor's Name

George Marakas

First Advisor's Committee Title

Co-committee chair

Second Advisor's Name

Sumit Kundu

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Co-committee chair

Third Advisor's Name

Attila Hertelendy

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Suchismita Mishra

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Keywords

Socialization, onboarding, newcomer adjustment, orientation, turnover intention

Date of Defense

5-21-2021

Abstract

New employee (newcomer) turnover is a severe problem in many organizations and inevitably leads to both operational and financial concerns. The hospitality industry, in particular, faces this challenge and struggles with acquiring and retaining talent. Studies have suggested that many newcomers leave their job due to inadequate socialization efforts on the employer’s part. While several researchers have explored the relationship involving newcomer onboarding and turnover intention, the hospitality domain lacks research investigating the effect of socialization practices on turnover intention. This study attempts to fill this void by exploring the effectiveness of four different socialization practices on onboarding success and their impact on newcomer adjustment, including turnover intention. Furthermore, this study also investigates the indirect effects of occupational self-efficacy and role clarity, on turnover intention.

The study’s objective was theory testing and hence used a covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) approach to test the research model. Participants were recruited using Amazon MTurk. Participants were screened to ensure they met the study criteria. A total of 230 respondents were included in the data analysis. The data analysis was conducted using AMOS 26.0 and SPSS 26.0. A total of nine hypotheses was advanced; although some of the hypotheses were not supported, the results confirmed a strong positive relationship between onboarding success and occupational self-efficacy. Similarly, the relationship between onboarding success and role clarity was also confirmed.

The results of the study suggest that successful onboarding plays a crucial role in promoting a newcomer’s occupational self-efficacy and role clarity leading to overall greater effectiveness. Based on the findings, I suggest implications for practitioners and offer recommendations for future research.

Identifier

FIDC010245

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Vilayil, Alex George, "The Effect of Socialization Practices and Onboarding on Newcomer Adjustment and Turnover Intention" (2021). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4812.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4812