10.1177/0021943604263290JOURNAL OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONFlanagin, Waldeck / ORGANIZATIONAL NEWCOMER SOCIALIZATION TECHNOLOGY USE AND ORGANIZATIONAL

This article develops a framework for the examination of organizational newcomer socialization, in light of recent developments in communication and information technologies. The proposed model specifies how newcomers to organizations select and use advanced technologies to access information and facili-tate interpersonal relationships that contribute to successful organizational socialization. In view of technological advances and current trends in organizations, the authors argue that such a model helps to make sense of contemporary socialization processes. The model is based on the premise that accurate, appropriate, and sufficient information is crucial to newcomers ’ efforts to become successfully social-ized and considers how newcomers’selection and use of advanced technologies can aid in information acquisition. The authors propose a number of factors that may predict organizational newcomers’use of technologies toward this end, including features of their socialization experiences, individual attitudes and personality characteristics, and group and organizational norms with regard to technology use. The article concludes by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of this perspective for organizations and their members