How does job crafting enhance newcomer organizational socialization? The effects of coworker exchange and prosocial motivation

Purpose Job crafting plays a critical role in the context of newcomer socialization. However, research remains limited on how newcomers' job crafting influences other organizational members. Drawing on social exchange theory, this study aims to investigate the effects of newcomers’ job crafting on organizational socialization through coworker exchange, offering insights into how job crafting facilitates socialization from an interpersonal perspective. Additionally, we examine the boundary condition of prosocial motivation in shaping these dynamics. Design/methodology/approach We conducted a three-wave survey study, with each wave spaced three weeks apart. A total of 207 newcomers from diverse industries participated in all 3 online surveys. A moderated mediation analysis is conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results showed that coworker exchange mediated the relationship between newcomers’ promotion-focused job crafting and organizational socialization. Additionally, prosocial motivation moderated the mediation effect such that the mediation effect became stronger when newcomers had a higher level of prosocial motivation. Practical implications The findings underscore the importance of recognizing and supporting job crafting behaviors among newcomers within organizational settings. Given the positive impact of job crafting, it is advisable for organizations to integrate awareness and facilitation of job crafting into their onboarding programs. Originality/value This study empirically demonstrates that promotion-focused job crafting by newcomers facilitates organizational socialization. The underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions are also examined.