Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Information‐seeking behaviour

2012; Emerald Publishing Limited; Volume: 10; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1108/1536-541211228504

1558-0946

Paola Spagnoli, António Caetano, Giancarlo Tanucci, Vera Lourenço de Sousa,

Emotional Intelligence and Performance

Purpose Despite more than three decades of studies, the role of information‐seeking during organizational socialization remains ambiguous. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role played by information‐seeking behaviour during the organizational socialization process. Design/methodology/approach Two different information‐seeking behaviors (implicit and explicit) were considered as mediators in the relationship between personality (extroversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness), organizational variables (LMX and POS) and organizational socialization outcomes (task mastery, social integration, role ambiguity, role conflict). Analysis carried out with SEM (structural equation modelling) on longitudinal survey data from 316 new police officers during their first six months of work showed interesting results regarding the two hypothesized mediators. Findings In particular, the results show that the two information‐seeking behaviors seem to be related to different paths that link personality and social‐exchange variables to organizational outcomes. Originality/value The paper's findings provide useful clues for a better understanding of the role of information‐seeking behaviour during the socialization process and highlight the importance of social support in predicting newcomer adjustment.