This case-study research investigated how newly hired engineers at a large manufacturing company learned what they were expected to do during their first year on the job, as well as how they were expected to do their work and why it was done that way (the social norms of the organization). Two major findings challenge and extend the traditional…

Traditional views of socialization focus primarily on the passive learning by the newcomer of the expectations of the organization. Theorizing and research on cognitive learning and social exchange indicate that the socialization process is vastly more complex. This paper views socialization through the lenses of cognitive learning and social…