ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews research on organizational socialization, highlighting the role of communication. Initially proposed by Van Maanen and Schein with a management focus, socialization refers to the process by which an individual becomes a knowledgeable organizational member. Later, Frederic Jablin provided a significant development by emphasizing the role of communication in socialization processes. This chapter provides an overview of the socialization process grounded in Jablin’s model: anticipatory socialization, encounter, metamorphosis, and exit/disengagement. We discuss state-of-the-art understanding of research in these areas and theories that guide such research. Outcomes and contexts of socialization process and critiques of the socialization model and socialization research more generally are discussed. The chapter ends with a discussion of how socialization research comports with the conceptualizations of organization and communication developed in this book.
