Settling in: The Role of Individual and Departmental Tactics in the Development of New Faculty Networks

Abstract

Network formation is a key element of newcomer socialization; however, little is understood about how newcomer networks are formed in higher education. Drawing on a series of interviews with 34 new pre-tenure faculty members, we propose that just as individual and organizational socialization tactics interactively influence newcomer adjustment (Gruman, Saks, & Zweig, 2006), so too will they affect new faculty experiences with network formation. Our findings support this proposal; that is, individual employee characteristics, the practices of specific departments within the larger university, and the interaction between the two, create different degrees of network integration for faculty. Further, we find that in the context of university departments, organizational tactics may have a more significant effect on network development (and potentially other socialization outcomes) than those that stem from the individual. Building upon these findings, we also identify factors that facilitate new faculty network development and use these factors to suggest practical guidance for universities striving to enhance new faculty integration.

• network development
• organizational socialization
• faculty integration
• newcomers

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Susan S. Fleming

Susan S. Fleming is a Senior Lecturer of Management and Organizational Behavior at the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University; [email protected].

Alyssa W. Goldman

Alyssa W. Goldman is a Doctoral Student in Sociology at Cornell University.

Shelley J. Correli

Shelley J. Correll is the Barbara D. Finberg Director of the Clayman Institute for Gender Research and Professor of Sociology and (by courtesy) Organizational Behavior at Stanford University.

Catherine J. Taylor

Catherine J. Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington.