Getting What's New from Newcomers: Empowering Leadership, Creativity, and Adjustment in the Socialization Context

39 Pages Posted: 27 Jan 2015

See all articles by T. Harris

T. Harris

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Ning Li

University of Iowa

Wendy R. Boswell

Texas A&M University - Department of Management

Xin-An Zhang

Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) - Antai College of Economics and Management

Xie Zhitao

Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU)

Date Written: January 27, 2015

Abstract

Researchers consistently argue that organizations need to generate creative ideas to ensure long-term success and survival. One possible solution for increasing creativity is to inject “fresh blood” into the organization by hiring new employees. However, past work suggests there may be a number of impediments that stifle newcomer creativity and, further, that encouraging newcomer creativity may compromise other adjustment outcomes. Accordingly, the present research examines how empowering leaders, in conjunction with contextual and relational factors (i.e., organizational support for creativity and newcomers’ trust in leaders), facilitate newcomer creativity. Study 1 indicates that empowering leadership positively predicts newcomer creativity and that this relationship is contingent on the organizational context. Study 2 reveals that more specific and proximal contextual socialization factor – newcomers’ trust in leaders – is a more potent moderator than organizational support for creativity. Further, these predictors operate through creative process engagement to influence creativity. Finally, results indicate positive links between empowering leadership and role clarity, attachment, and task performance, suggesting that empowering leadership may serve as an important, albeit overlooked, socialization tactic.

Suggested Citation

Harris, T. and Li, Ning and Boswell, Wendy R. and Zhang, Xin-An and Zhitao, Xie, Getting What's New from Newcomers: Empowering Leadership, Creativity, and Adjustment in the Socialization Context (January 27, 2015). Mays Business School Research Paper No. 2015-2, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2556328 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2556328

T. Harris

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ( email )

601 E John St
Champaign, IL Champaign 61820
United States

Ning Li

University of Iowa ( email )

341 Schaeffer Hall
Iowa City, IA 52242-1097
United States

Wendy R. Boswell (Contact Author)

Texas A&M University - Department of Management ( email )

430 Wehner
College Station, TX 77843-4218
United States

Xin-An Zhang

Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) - Antai College of Economics and Management ( email )

No.535 Fahuazhen Road
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai, Shanghai 200052
China

Xie Zhitao

Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU)

KoGuan Law School
Shanghai 200030, Shanghai 200052
China

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