Socialization scholars have traditionally focused on organizational practices and newcomers' proactive behavior as antecedents of a successful work adjustment (Ellis, Nifadkar, Bauer, & Erdogan, 2017), whereas little is known on the triggering role that individuals' self-regulatory abilities may play. Likewise, evidence supporting integrative unfolding models of socialization are lacking (Ellis et al., 2015) and turnover research has relatively disregarded the military contexts (Smith, Holtom, & Mitchell, 2011).
All in all, the present research project aims to explore the relationship between regulatory emotional self-efficacy beliefs (ES, Bandura et al., 2003; Caprara et al., 2008), organizational socialization (OS, Bauer et al., 2007), organizational identification (OI) and turnover intentions (TI) (Van Dick et al., 2004). More in detail, we expect that ES negatively predicts TI through the longitudinal mediation of both OS and OI. We will test our hypotheses using a full mediation design consisting of three waves of data for each participant and the sample will be made of military newcomers. Such a well-structured research design is currently recognized as one of the strongest and less biased design to assess mediation (Little, 2013; O'Laughlin, Martin, & Ferrer, 2018) and to infer causality processes (Cole & Maxwell, 2003).
From a theoretical standpoint, the present study would contribute to fill several gaps in the socialization and turnover research among newcomers by showing how the work adjustment process may unfold over time starting from the individuals' self-efficacy beliefs. From a practical standpoint, results would provide practitioners with useful suggestions on the importance of considering the training of regulatory emotional self-efficacy beliefs as a part of mentoring programs in order to increase the chance of a successful work adjustment and, thus, reducing turnover.
The main advance of knowledge that the present study brings consists of the examination of an integrative model of organizational socialization which simultaneously consider antecedents, proximal and distal outcomes. Indeed, notwithstanding the importance of having a whole picture concerning how the newcomers¿ adjustment process unfolds over time, empirical evidence on integrative models of socialization are scarce and socialization antecedents and outcomes have been often investigated separately. Moreover, among antecedents, socialization research has mostly looked at which practices organizations can employ to socialize their new hires (e.g., socialization tactics; Van Maanen & Schein, 1979), and the proactive behavior acted by the latter (e.g., information seeking; Ellis, Nifadkar, Bauer, & Erdogan, 2017), disregarding the role that self-efficacy beliefs specifically related to manage negative emotions at work may play. Likewise, the present research would provide turnover research with new insights on the both personal and social determinants in a relatively understudied context such as the military one (Smith et al., 2011).
Importantly, the present study also answers the call for taking into account the dynamic nature of the socialization process (Ashforth, 2012; Kammeyer-Mueller, Wanberg, Rubenstein, & Song, 2013), by using two large cohorts assessed at three time points for three consecutive years (i.e., from the enrolment to the end of the training). Indeed, if it is true that organizational socialization is particularly relevant for newcomers when joining a new organization, it is also true that it continues to be important over the whole career span (e.g., role transitions; Caforio, 2018; Chao et al., 1994; Wanberg, 2012), making organizational socialization (with rules, roles, and work demands) a goal that has to be constantly achieved (Moreland & Levine, 2006). Overall, the research design here used is currently recognized as one of the strongest and less biased design to assess mediation (Little, 2013; O'Laughlin, Martin, & Ferrer, 2018) and to infer causality processes (Cole & Maxwell, 2003).
From a theoretical standpoint, the present study would contribute to fill several gaps in the socialization and turnover research among military newcomers. In this way, we will be able to offer a full picture of the psychological processes that, starting from perceived self-regulatory abilities lead newcomers to socialize, identify and then to stay in their organization. Our model is particularly relevant because it provides a unique explanation of the temporal sequence leading individuals to develop quit intentions. Importantly, these theoretical contributions will be translated into practical implications that human resource managers and organization may apply in order to foster the work adjustment process and, as a consequence, to prevent turnover and its costs. Indeed, the triggering role played by self-efficacy beliefs in regulating negative emotions at work would suggest the value of training aimed to improve individuals¿ regulatory emotional self-efficacy beliefs in the military academy, for example by using approaches such as reflective learning (Pool & Qualter, 2012), or mentoring. In this latter regard, a recent longitudinal study conducted on a sample of military pilot-trainees who were experiencing difficulties in their training course, McCrory, Cobley, and Marchant (2013) found that the Psychological Skills Training (i.e., a formal one-to-one mentoring intervention based on both Social-cognitive and Self-regulation model; Bandura, 1997, 2001; Zimmerman, 2000) was associated with a heightened efficacy. Furthermore, mentoring is among the organizational practices aimed at socializing newcomers (for a recent review of the literature on socialization and mentoring, see Allen, Eby, Chao, & Bauer, 2017).