Events

Mr Jingfeng Yin
Ph.D. Candidate
University of Illinois Chicago

While previous research has predominantly focused on the socialization processes and consequences of general newcomers who are characterized by a lack of familiarity, high reliance on others, increased propensity for mistakes and errors, and heightened levels of uncertainty and stress, the socialization of star newcomers has received less attention. Unlike general newcomers, star newcomer socialization not only involves the newcomer’s adjustment and adaptation but also instigates changes and adaptations within the team. This planned research, grounded in human capital theory, explores the mechanisms and implications of star newcomer socialization. Specifically, it examines the interactive effects between team and star newcomer adaptation on team performance. The proposal includes plans to empirically test the hypotheses using a dataset of approximately 600 star newcomers and 2,000 star newcomer-season observations from North American basketball clubs in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The anticipated findings suggest that team adaptation, triggered by star newcomer performance, is positively correlated with team performance, and that star newcomer adaptation reinforces this relationship. This research aims to contribute to the existing literature on newcomer socialization, star performers, and team dynamics and performance.