Not all information is from insiders: Linking information from social media and customers to newcomers' pride, learning and socialization outcomes

When first joining an organization, newcomers need to obtain information about relationships and tasks, as well as about the organization itself. Although many scholars have emphasized the role of information provided by organizational insiders (supervisors and coworkers) in facilitating newcomers' successful adjustment to the organization, the meaningful role of information from sources external to the organization has rarely been included in this line of research. In this study, we propose that both social media and customers can provide information about organizational performance and social image. Based on affective events theory and two fundamental social judgements of competence and warmth, we explore how positive information about organizational performance and social image from social media and customers, along with their interactive effects, affect newcomers' learning behaviours and socialization outcomes through promoting their pride in the organization. In an experiment and a four-wave, two-source survey, the results show that positive information from social media and customers plays a critical role in newcomer socialization. We discuss the implications for theory and practice.