An interactional approach to organizational assimilation

Abstract

Organizational assimilation is the process by which newcomers enter into and become part of an organization. Traditionally, assimilation has been described through empirical research as a temporal process in which the newcomer passes through several sequential phases. This research, however, approaches assimilation from an interpretive standpoint, focusing on organizational sense-making during assimilation at a personal level through interactions. Four participants, all recent college graduates beginning their first jobs, were interviewed in person and on the telephone approximately twice a month for a period of three to five months. The results to some degree support the traditional conceptualization of assimilation as a set of stages, but demonstrate that the progression of assimilation is more complex than expected. Newcomers negotiated task and social information as well as their emotional responses to and feelings toward the organization. This study found that the organization into which the newcomer enters is ongoing, dynamic, and potentially unstable, and that newcomers may develop successful relationships with managers and co-workers while never truly identifying with or connecting to the organization as a whole. Limitations to this study are addressed and future avenues for research are suggested.