DETERMINANTS OF NEW HIRE INFORMATION-SEEKING DURING ORGANIZATIONAL ENCOUNTER

This study describes the relative influence of a set of individual (i.e., self-esteem, tolerance for ambiguity), relational (i.e., perceived social costs of seeking information), and organizational factors (i.e., social support, mode of socialization) on new hire (n = 200) information-seeking. A LISREL analysis suggests that organizational newcomers' information-seeking strategy preferences are determined, in part, by the perceived social costs of seeking information they face. Post-hoc analyses further reveal that perceived social costs of seeking information helps determine who new hires target with overt requests for information. rn turn, social support and mode of socialization-were found to contribute to newcomers' perceived social costs of seeking information. This article concludes with limitations, suggestions for future research, and implications for practitioners.