Socialization tactics: Antecedents for goal interdependence and newcomer adjustment and retention

•Serial and investiture tactics promote cooperative goal interdependence between newcomers and their teams.•Serial and investiture tactics weaken competitive and independent goal relationships between newcomers and their teams.•Cooperative goals promote positive attitudes and strong co-worker relationships of newcomers.•Competitive and independent goals result in low affective attitudes and high intentions to quit of newcomers.•Goal interdependence mediates the effects of serial and investiture tactics on newcomer adjustment.

This study argues that Deutsch's theory of goal interdependence is useful to examine the dynamics of serial and investiture tactics on newcomer adjustment and retention in work team contexts. Structural equation results of interviews of specific incidents collected from one hundred and two newcomers support the hypothesized model that serial and investiture tactics used by teams promote cooperative goal interdependence and weaken competitive goal interdependence and independent goal relationship between newcomers and their teams. Cooperative goals were also found to promote positive attitudes and strong co-worker relationships whereas competitive and independent goals resulted in intentions to quit and low levels of organizational commitment and job satisfaction.