Navigating the undulating path : unraveling the impact of planned and unplanned events during the socialization process

Abstract

Socialization is a complex, dynamic process that might be disrupted by both planned and unplanned events. However, the literature is sparse regarding the impact of these events on the socialization process, especially from the dynamic perspective. This dissertation provides a two-study exploration of the dynamics of planned and unplanned events that punctuate the newcomers’ socialization process. The first study conceptualizes job rotation as a planned disruptive event to the newcomer adjustment process. Using a field quasi-experiment with twelve waves of longitudinal data, I tracked changes in newcomers' task mastery and social integration before, during, and after job rotation. I found that newcomers with job rotation experienced an immediate decrease in task mastery after job rotation; newcomers without job rotation experienced an increase in social integration after rotation compared to newcomers with job rotation. I also found that newcomers with higher learning orientation experienced a smaller disruption in task mastery during job rotation and that newcomers with a more proactive personality experienced an increase in social integration during job rotation. Newcomers with initial challenging work experience had a quicker recovery in task mastery after job rotation but not in social integration. The second study conceptualized the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic as an unplanned and positive profession-spotlighting event to newcomers’ identity construction process. Using 10-wave longitudinal data (five waves before and five after the outbreak of COVID-19), I use discontinuous growth modeling to explore the impact of the pandemic as a positive profession-spotlighting event on their increase in professional identification. I found that new graduate nurses’ professional identification gradually fell during their initial months in professional practice but rose dramatically after the onset of COVID-19. I also found that sensegiving and moral elevation during the event led to an increase in professional identification. Together, this dissertation extends the existing socialization literature by illuminating the significant influence of both planned and unplanned events on the socialization process and offers practical insights into how to manage such events effectively.