TY  - CHAP
AB  - Purpose I present and evaluate various explanations for why new workers who were sponsored by oldtimers tend to have better job outcomes (better performance, more satisfaction, and less turnover) than do new workers who were not sponsored.Methodology/approach My evaluations involve searching for evidence that fits (or does not fit) each of the explanations.Findings The two most popular explanations argue that the job benefits of sponsorship arise because (a) sponsored newcomers have more realistic job expectations than do unsponsored newcomers, or (b) the quality of sponsored newcomers is greater than that of unsponsored newcomers. Unfortunately, these explanations have weak empirical support. A third explanation, largely untested as yet, attributes the performance benefits of sponsorship to social pressures that can arise when someone is sponsored for a job. These pressures include efforts by newcomers to repay the people who sponsored them, efforts by sponsors to assist the newcomers they sponsored after those persons have been hired, and stereotypes among coworkers about the kinds of people who get jobs through sponsors. Although limited as yet, the evidence regarding this new explanation seems promising.Research implications More research on this third explanation for sponsorship effects should be done. Suggestions for how to do such research are reviewed and a relevant experiment is presented.Social implications The ideas and evidence presented here could help employers who want to improve the job outcomes of their new workers. Poor outcomes among such persons are a major problem in many settings.Originality/value Although some of my ideas have been mentioned by others, they were not been described in much detail, nor were they tested. My hope is that this chapter will promote new theory and research on the performance benefits of sponsorship, a topic that has been largely ignored in recent years.
VL  - 32
SN  - 978-1-78560-076-0, 978-1-78560-077-7/0882-6145
DO  - 10.1108/S0882-614520150000032005
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/S0882-614520150000032005
AU  - Moreland Richard L.
PY  - 2015
Y1  - 2015/01/01
TI  - Recruiting Source Effects: A Social Psychological Analysis
T2  - Advances in Group Processes
T3  - Advances in Group Processes
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 123
EP  - 148
Y2  - 2024/04/19
ER  -