The factors that aid in or detract from newcomers’ adjustment to an organization are critical. Research highlights the contribution of firm socialization tactics and newcomers’ proactive behaviors on newcomer role learning and commitment to the organization. The transition from outsider to insider is also aided by newcomers’ fit to the job, onboarding experiences, and training. Together, these experiences contribute toward newcomer uncertainty reduction, relationship development, and identity formation. This study argues for the importance of work group performance and support norms for enhanced newcomer adjustment. The application of normative social influence theories to organizational socialization research in the context of work groups results in a meso-level approach that complements prior emphasis on organization-initiated onboarding activities and newcomers’ proactivity. The proposed model was tested on a sample of 305 newcomers across a variety of occupational and organizational contexts. Regression-based analysis estimated the effects newcomers’ perceptions of their work group’s performance and support norms had on adjustment variables including role clarity, social integration, helping behavior, and task performance. Moderation analyses tested the interplay between perceived performance and support norms with newcomers’ reported group salience and relationship quality with their manager (LMX). Perceptions of work group norms played an impactful role on newcomers’ role clarity, social integration, and behavior, yet many of these influences appear to derive from work groups where support is both prevalent and prescribed. In the case of social integration, perceptions of a high-performing work group and the enforcement of expectations toward supportive actions became relevant. A three-way interaction between perceived performance and support norms with LMX suggests high support and performance norms may primarily benefit the performance of those who develop higher-quality relationships with their supervising managers. The study contributes to organizational socialization research in three important ways. First, it extends socialization research by demonstrating when work group influences may contribute or hinder cognitive, social, and behavioral elements of newcomer adjustment. Second, it builds upon prior research by understanding normative influence through communicative patterns of ambient signals and discrete messages collectively received by newcomers from those they work alongside. Finally, it offers a measurement approach that distinguishes between informational and normative work group influence, which complements prior focus on assimilation (through “socialization tactics”) and individualization (through newcomers’ proactivity).
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