Building Organizational Commitment: Newcomers’ Information-Seeking Behavior at Work

Abstract

In this new generation, workforce is the key point that contributes to organizational success. Every organization is conducting several ways on how to equip their employees with the values, attitudes and proper work behavior -a process known as socialization. Most of the times the formal socialization strategies employed by the organization is just a supplement to the continuous informal process at the workplace, which is greatly enhanced by the question people ask, and the efforts they make to facilitate learning. This is known as the newcomers’ information-seeking behavior (Morrison, 1993 as cited in Greenberg and Bacon, 1995). This is defined by the types of information sought and the tactics used in order to acquire the information needed. The frequency of proactive information-seeking behavior on the part of the newcomer is positively related to several organizational socialization outcomes, including organizational commitment (Louis, Posner, & Powell, 1983). The Porter, Lawler, and Hackman Entry Model served as the theoretical foundation of the study. Organizational commitment has been extensively investigated as an important work attitude, and it is defined as a bond or linking of the individual to the organization which makes it difficult to leave. Thus, it is an important work attitude that organizations need to create for their employees to sustain organizational success. Recognizing the above, this study is designed to determine the influence of information-seeking behaviors of newcomers to the level of their organizational commitment. This is a descriptive research design which used quantitative methods to direct the investigation of the relationship of the two variables being studied. Survey questionnaires and an interview through an email correspondence were administered to the 40 new Customer Service Representatives (CSR) employed not more than 9 months at the Y Department of Call Center X. The questionnaire used has two parts - the RISBQ or the Revised Information-Seeking Behavior Questionnaire (adapted from Yu, 2003) and the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire adapted from Mowday, Porter, and Steers (1979). All statistical tests administered are with the help of a statistician and are correct at 95 % level of confidence. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and odds ratio tests were used to know the correlation of the variable. Results show that the newcomers at Y Department of Call Center X seek the different types of information (all frequencies under high is greater than the frequencies under low). Among the five types of information, referent information is the most and least would be normative information. Majority of the respondents would resort to overt questions, which shows that the newcomers of Call Center X are seeking information in a more active manner. In general, organizational commitment is not dependent on information-seeking behavior. However the correlation of organizational commitment against the types and tactics was checked one at a time and showed that all of the five types of information sought by newcomers in the workplace have weak correlation with the level of organizational commitment. This is to be expected because they are independent. Respondents who score high in technical information will more likely have high level of commitment compared to those who scored low. Normative information however, is the opposite, scoring high is less likely to have high level of commitment. On the tactics used, disguising conversation is strongly associated to commitment level. However, for testing limits, as the level increases, the commitment level decreases moderately. Respondents who score high in third party tactic will more likely have high level of commitment compared to those who scored low. Observation, is the opposite, scoring high is less likely to have high level of commitment. Findings from the interview substantiate these results. It shows that Call Center X has been consistent in its socialization strategies and in information dissemination strategies as well. The researcher then discussed the implications of the study with suggestions for how future research can extend current understanding of employee information seeking and its relation to organizational commitment.