Newcomer Innovation in Work Teams

Personnel Turnover and Team Performance

“…When either newcomers or oldtimers expect fellow group members to be more critical, they should try to learn the task more thoroughly during training and perform it better later on. We could also manipulate the external status of newcomers to see whether oldtimers change their behavior accordingly (see Levine, Choi, & Moreland, 2003;Ziller & Behringer, 1960). Oldtimers should try harder to impress newcomers whose status is higher.…”

“…The conditions under which newcomers can change oldtimers' shared cognition were recently analyzed by Levine and his colleagues (Levine et al, 2003;Levine, Moreland, & Choi, 2001; see also Levine & Moreland, 1985). Although newcomers often interfere with group performance, for example by forcing oldtimers to expend time and energy in socialization activities (Levine & Moreland, 1999;Moreland & Levine, 1989), they can also improve this performance by introducing innovations that help the team work more effectively.…”

“…Although newcomers often interfere with group performance, for example by forcing oldtimers to expend time and energy in socialization activities (Levine & Moreland, 1999;Moreland & Levine, 1989), they can also improve this performance by introducing innovations that help the team work more effectively. According to Levine et al (2003), such innovation is the result of an implicit or explicit negotiation between newcomers and oldtimers, both of whom play an active role during the socialization phase of group membership. In discussing how newcomers' characteristics and behaviors affect their ability to produce innovation, Levine et al (2003) emphasized newcomers' motivation to introduce change into the team they are entering, their ability to generate ideas that can enhance team performance, and their ability to convince oldtimers to accept these ideas.…”

“…According to Levine et al (2003), such innovation is the result of an implicit or explicit negotiation between newcomers and oldtimers, both of whom play an active role during the socialization phase of group membership. In discussing how newcomers' characteristics and behaviors affect their ability to produce innovation, Levine et al (2003) emphasized newcomers' motivation to introduce change into the team they are entering, their ability to generate ideas that can enhance team performance, and their ability to convince oldtimers to accept these ideas. They argued, for example, that (a) newcomers' motivation to introduce change varies positively with their belief that they can develop good ideas for solving team problems and their perception that their innovation efforts will be rewarded; (b) newcomers' ability to generate useful ideas varies positively with their general and task-specific cognitive skills; and (c) newcomers' ability to 'convince oldtimers to adopt their ideas varies positively with their status and use of certain behavioral styles (e.g., consistency, assertiveness).…”

“…They argued, for example, that (a) newcomers' motivation to introduce change varies positively with their belief that they can develop good ideas for solving team problems and their perception that their innovation efforts will be rewarded; (b) newcomers' ability to generate useful ideas varies positively with their general and task-specific cognitive skills; and (c) newcomers' ability to 'convince oldtimers to adopt their ideas varies positively with their status and use of certain behavioral styles (e.g., consistency, assertiveness). In addition, Levine et al (2003) identified several team characteristics that affect oldtimers' readiness to accept and implement newcomers' suggestions (e.g., openness, composition, staffing level). Activities Experiment 1.…”