Leaders' resources and newcomer socialization: the importance of delegation

Purpose Organizational socialization refers to the process by which newcomers learn to perform in their role and adjust to work after organizational entry. Unfortunately, there is little knowledge regarding organizational socialization from the supervisors' perspectives, although the importance of supervisors in newcomer socialization is one of the most robust findings in the field. The purpose of this paper is to examine how supervisors' perceived organizational support (supervisor POS) and the quality of their working relationships with newcomers (supervisor leader-member exchange (LMX)) relate to the delegation of authority to newcomers and how delegation in turn relates to newcomers' work adjustment. Design/methodology/approach A sample of new employees completed questionnaires that included delegation and socialization outcome measures. Supervisors evaluated their POS and the quality of their working relationships with newcomers (LMX). Findings The results showed that supervisor POS moderated the relationship between supervisor LMX and delegation. Specifically, supervisors with high POS showed delegation to newcomers irrespective of their LMX. Conversely, when supervisors' POS was low, a high LMX was related to delegation. The results further showed that delegation was positively related to newcomers' role clarity, organizational knowledge, and job satisfaction. Finally, the results showed indirect effects of supervisor LMX on newcomers' role clarity and job satisfaction through delegation contingent on supervisor POS. Originality/value This study showed that a supervisor's social exchange relations both with the organization and with a new employee are important in the delegation of authority and responsibility to a newcomer and that this delegation in turn relates to newcomers' work adjustment.