The purpose of the study was to extend organizational socialization research by exploring the impact of an orientation over time. Orientations... Show moreThe purpose of the study was to extend organizational socialization research by exploring the impact of an orientation over time. Orientations and their impact have rarely been studied despite their popularity in practice. When viewed through the lens of the training literature, it was hypothesized that strategic orientations have a positive impact on newcomers by increasing transfer and its predictors (i.e., affective and cognitive learning outcomes). Two-hundred and nine newcomers with prior work experience participated by attending an organization-level orientation on their first two days with a new employer. Post-training learning outcomes were gathered immediately after orientation followed by eight weekly assessments of orientation transfer and newcomer adjustment (i.e., role clarity, social integration, values mastery). Using latent growth curve modeling, intraindividual differences in interindividual change in transfer and adjustment were examined and all trajectories were found to significantly vary within the sample. Findings suggest that transfer declines and then levels off around week four and the slower the decline, the greater the rate of adjustment. As predicted, initial levels of orientation transfer mediated the relationship between learning outcomes and rates of adjustment. Future research should continue to explore the role of transfer in newcomer adjustment, particularly to seek predictors of transfer trajectories which were not found in the present study. Ph.D. in Psychology, May 2018 Show less
