A Black-Box yet To Be Opened: Multi-level Processes During Migrants’ Organizational Socialization

Abstract

Migrants entering a new country also search for belonging. Through employment, migrants work in organizations and experience socialization in these new contexts. Thereby, organizations offer migrants a wide range of possibilities for identification and are thus places to regain a sense of belonging. We rely on prior research showing what migrants experience during the process of organizational socialization to organizational identification, more specifically through (a) sense-making which (b) provides self-esteem and self-enhancement, and (c) reduces uncertainty. Furthermore, we also investigate the interplay of various in-groups (multiple cultures) and levels (micro, meso, macro) that migrants identify with. Consequently, we follow a cross-level approach to identity in and beyond organizations and combine migration, organizational, and intercultural research. Based on a qualitative interview study in Germany, we highlight how positive organizational identification results not only in companies’ workforce retention but also in migrants’ increased societal identification. Moreover, we emphasize the important role German colleagues play in the socialization process across various levels. They serve as socialization agents being individual interaction partners and team members, but also representatives of professional cultures and of the German society. In sum, our research yields important theoretical and practical implications. We provide interesting avenues for future research to uncover the complex interrelationships in more detail, open up the black-box of organizational socialization, and rely on interdisciplinarity in a complementary way. Human Resources Management could consider identification as a multi-layered opportunity, recognize the potentials of migrants’ identification, and thus strive for the sustainable development of their competencies.

Organizations and migrant integration: Towards a multiparadigm narrative approach

“…Studying integration is crucial for cross-cultural management and migration research because the processes and outcomes of mobility-related interactions and experiences are key concerns for both fields. Cross-cultural management research recognises that migrants can add value to organizations through their alternative perspectives and problem-solving strategies, which can be accessed and used strategically when migrants are integrated effectively into the workforce (Fitzsimmons et al, 2011; Grosskopf et al, 2022; Hajro et al, 2017; Hong and Minbaeva, 2022). However, cross-cultural management and migration research has shown that the inclusion of migrants in specific workplaces, and labour markets more widely, requires us to understand the factors that shape practices and experiences of integration (Fang et al, 2013; Hajro et al, 2021; Janta et al, 2012; Lugosi et al, 2016).…”

Inter-Organisational Entanglements in Migrant Support Ecologies: Action and Collaboration Supporting Labour Market Integration

“…A disparate range of organisations and their constituent actors influence migrants' transition into and through the labour market (Calò et al, 2021;Grosskopf et al, 2021;Siviş, 2021). Various informal networks, formal organisations and institutions including charities, branches of faith-based bodies, social enterprises and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) help to develop migrants' general employability and facilitate their access to work (Aerne & Bonoli, 2021;Bagavos & Kourachanis, 2021;İçduygu & Diker, 2017;Siviş, 2021).…”

Socializing Immigrant Jobseekers: The Role of Pre-Employment Mentoring Programs

“…Organizational socialization is the process by which organizational newcomers 1 acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to adjust to an organizational role or a new job (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979;Allen et al, 2017). Recent studies (e.g., Grosskopf et al, 2022;Omanović & Langley, 2023;Tharenou & Kulik, 2020) demonstrate the relevance of adopting theoretical constructs developed from organizational socialization to understand the challenges facing immigrants when socializing into receiving-country organizations. They also identify specific organizational practices that can be of great use in facilitating the socialization process.…”

“…Colleagues in the organizations are important socialization agents for migrants new to the receiving country. For instance, Grosskopf et al (2022) found that migrants' colleagues in the German workplace not only socialized them into organizational insiders but also increased migrants' identification with professional cultures and the broader society.…”

“…A growing number of studies (e.g., Grosskopf et al, 2022;Malik & Manroop, 2017;Tharenou & Kulik, 2020) have demonstrated the relevance of drawing on socialization literature to understand immigrant socialization in receiving-country organizations. However, they focus on post-organizational entry rather than pre-entry, where socialization is particularly intense and problematic (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979).…”