Engaging with the past: Discerning meaning in organizational imprints

While scholars have explained how organizational imprints evolve, they have yet to explore how newcomers discern the meaning of existing imprints. Drawing on a field study of a home healthcare agency, we demonstrate how newcomers’ discovery of imprints spurs an assessment process through which they...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Strategic organization 2023-08, Vol.21 (3), p.596-620
Main Authors: Lyle, Matthew CB, Walsh, Ian J, Prokopovych, Bogdan
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:While scholars have explained how organizational imprints evolve, they have yet to explore how newcomers discern the meaning of existing imprints. Drawing on a field study of a home healthcare agency, we demonstrate how newcomers’ discovery of imprints spurs an assessment process through which they personalize the imprints before enacting them through task performance, affective commitment, and preferences for selection. We discuss the implications of our work for scholars seeking to better understand the cognitive and social-cognitive processes underlying newcomers’ experiences with organizational imprints and the ways in which such engagement might shape their persistence.
ISSN:1476-1270
1741-315X
DOI:10.1177/14761270221099044