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Socialization is one of the fundamental processes that define how collectivities emerge. Socialization underpins the social structures that shape not only how social actors interact in community but also the boundaries of action and the rules of engagement. In the context of organizations, socialization is a process that significantly shapes organization in the way core practices shape how things are done and why they are done in particular ways. This emphasis on consistency within and between practices is seen to be greatly facilitated by specific practices like staff induction. The purpose of this paper is to review the current conceptual and empirical research on staff induction as a process of organizational socialization and outlines some of the areas for future research particularly if a social practice perspective is adopted.

The paper presents a systematic review of the relevant literature on organizational socialization and staff induction and outlines themes to which the debate can usefully be extended.

This paper focuses on how staff induction practices provide valuable insights about how social agents (especially newcomers) get socialized in organizations.

This paper provides a foundation for the various staff induction practices that other papers in this issue will be presenting. By outlining the current debate and insights from previous empirical research on staff induction, the objective is to extend the debate by outlining some new avenues for research that papers in the special issue both respond to and further explicate.

This paper explores staff induction and organizational socialization as a practice that can provide new insights into the dynamics of social interaction within organizations.

This study aims to conceptualise how the occupational socialisation of young chefs is conducted in Michelin-starred restaurants in Great Britain and Ireland; the key role of banter and bullying in this process is explored and critically discussed.

This qualitative research critically discusses the data from 54 in-depth, face-to-face interviews with male and female Michelin-starred chefs in Great Britain and Ireland. A flexible interview guide was used to ensure all key areas, and topics discussed earlier in the literature review were covered. The rich data from the interviews were categorised in four different themes.

Drawing upon the fieldwork, fresh insights into the social structures, processes and group dynamics which underpin the socialisation process of young chefs are revealed in the participants’ own words. Four areas emerged from the usage of thematic analysis: occupational status, discipline and hierarchy in kitchen brigades, gender segregation in kitchen brigades and the role of banter and bullying in occupational socialisation.

This study generates empirical data that inform contemporary debates about the role of banter and bullying in the occupational socialisation process of new members in Michelin-starred restaurants. A conceptual framework on the process of occupational socialisation in Michelin-starred kitchen brigades in Great Britain and Ireland is also provided.

The findings of this study suggest that banter and bullying are deeply embedded in chefs’ occupational culture; they also play a key role in the process of induction and occupational socialisation of the new recruits. In addition, gender segregation was found to be a persistent problem in commercial kitchens – young female chefs have to endure the same harsh conditions during the induction and occupational socialisation process. A recommended course of action to eradicate this phenomenon involves HR professionals, hospitality managers and the Michelin Guide.

The understanding of chefs’ induction and occupational socialisation is deemed crucial for successful hospitality operations; nevertheless, this still remains an under-researched area. This study is unique in terms of scale and depth; it is expected to provide useful insights in both theoretical and practical perspective, regarding the induction, socialisation and eventually, retention of young chefs in Michelin-starred restaurants.

The organizations' shareholder value maximization is one of the oldest beliefs in business economics. An organization is seen as a compromise between various goals and targets set by stakeholders, including the workforce. Induction training for newcomers is a part of a comprehensive selection of training and development functions in organizations. Those actions are seen as having a role in the socialization functions in organizations. In other words, it offers opportunities for the newcomers to create unofficial networks inside the work community. The purpose of this study is to investigate the induction training practices in use in organizations with an ethnic minority workforce as well as the development of induction training and methods used in diverse workplaces.

The study uses the findings of investigations regarding ethnic minority group members' induction training practices in Finland as a part of Perehdyttämällä monimuotoiseen työyhteisöön – Petmo (initiation training of multicultural working place)‐project.

The study found that internationalisation and diversity are clearly beneficial for the company/community, but they also require resources and investments both in recruitment, induction training and work familiarization as well as in comprehensive human resource development; the great challenge seems to be the lack of resources and time during the induction process – what is needed is more evaluation, information (feedback and assessment systems), innovations and training for the induction trainers (communications); the induction training should be the same for everyone. However, in different tasks flexibility may be required, e.g. in the order the issues are presented – for one person the concrete work and the feelings associated with it, knowing the working community and developing the skills are better foundations for general integration and commitment, the other person may approach issues more naturally through a theoretical framework.

The paper uses the research material because it captures successfully the typical situation in Finnish organizations. These insights may act as a basis for developmental actions.

A significant and increasing number of graduate recruits take up employment for specific companies by virtue of their ethical reputation and profiles. As such, ethical fit has become an important dimension of the attraction and retention of graduates. However, preconceived notions of a company’s ethical orientation obtained through the media and initial recruitment exercises may be challenged during the induction and socialization phases of organizational entry, such that people may find that the reputation is just an external façade leading to disappointment and a reassessment of the employer. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The study’s essential focus is on building a conceptual ethical fit model and to underline the need for further conceptual development in the area. The analysis of extant secondary data and the methodology of serendipity were used.

The model’s conceptual cogency and practical utility for human resource management are analyzed in the light of specific secondary data and specific propositions described.

A major concern with conceptual models is empirical validity and practical utility which requires empirical testing. However, this limitation has been mitigated by the use of a serendipitous approach from a qualitative empirical study with a generalized person–organization (P–O) focus.

Various practical implications of the model described in the paper for HR management are evident from empirical studies in the area which have dealt with particular aspects of the model. For example, Bauer et al. (1998) found that socialization effects employee turnover. And, Cable and Parsons (2001) indicate that organizational socialization is critical in generating committed employees whose values are congruent with those of the organization. Since committed employees are critical for the success of the organization, they suggest training programs for hiring managers and criteria in performance appraisals that include the development of employee value congruence through specific formal socialization tactics.

The paper contributes to the extant literature by building a dynamic conceptual model with attendant testable propositions that explore the implications of employee misalignment in pre-socialization anticipatory organizational ethical fit and post-socialization organizational ethical fit. More specifically, the study contributes to the extant literature by considering the socialization process in relation to ethical fit dynamics. It also considers from the point of view of specific moral development theory and changing perceptions of ethical climate that occur during organizational socialization. Serendipitous material obtained from a qualitative study of P–O fit puts flesh on the bones of the effects of the socialization process on ethical fit described by the paper’s conceptual model while providing circumstantial evidence for the propositions and their practical utility for HR management.

The dynamic capability view serves to explain how particular practices ensure the firm's performance and competitiveness within a continuously changing environment. In this paper, the staff induction processes of two small firms in The Netherlands (management consultancy and biotech (BT) start‐up) are examined from a practice‐based view. The authors explore whether the staff induction processes of these firms can be regarded as practices, and if so, whether and how these firms have developed a dynamic capability in staff induction.

Case studies are conducted in the management consultancy and biotechnology sectors to explore the practising of dynamic capability.

The findings suggest small firms can effectively develop and master their staff induction processes (as practices), but do this on the basis of ad hoc problem solving rather than a dynamic capability. If small firms develop any dynamic capability at all, they apparently do so towards specialized resources and processes that are perceived as most critical to the firm's continuity and performance (e.g. product development in the case of the BT firm). As such, this study confirms Winter's hypothesis about the fundamentally different cost structures of dynamic capabilities and ad hoc problem solving, which explains why dynamic capabilities tend to be rare and ad hoc problem solving prevails in many small organizations.

The paper examines the interaction between staff induction practices, dynamic capabilities, learning strategies, and ad hoc problem solving in two small firms. Implications for practitioners are that consciously engaging in learning strategies helps to adapt practices and build a dynamic capability in staff induction.

The purpose of this paper is to ask if customer experiences in public houses (pubs) go wrong because of poor initial and subsequent training for front-line staff, while questioning if enough is being made of employee engagement and socialization as a means to improve consistency within the pub service encounter.

The study applies a critical review of the literature with a focus on the initial and subsequent training of front-line employees in the context of managed and entrepreneur-led pub-retailing operations.

The delivery and impact of a well-designed initial training programme may not only enhance long-term employee engagement and loyalty, but also provide competitive advantage for pub-retail operations through a more consistent service delivery. The paper questions the suitability of the approach currently being adopted within the sector and suggests that change is needed in order to ensure the longer-term survival of pub-retail businesses.

Can reliable and consistent customer experiences be delivered without a more progressive approach to the initial training and engagement of front-line employees?

While the importance of initial and subsequent training is widely accepted, the potential for its poor delivery has an almost predictable impact on many customer experiences. The paper recommends a review of the methods used by managed house and entrepreneurial (tenanted and leasehold) pub-retailing businesses to enhance employee socialization, engagement and loyalty to fuel the sector’s drive to generate greater competitive advantage.

The purpose of this study is to conceptualise how the occupational identity and culture of chefs is constructed and maintained through both work and social interaction.

The study follows a qualitative interpretivist approach; in total, 54 unstructured, in-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with Michelin-starred chefs in Great Britain and Ireland.

Drawing upon the fieldwork, fresh insights into the social structures and processes which underpin the creation and maintenance of the occupational identity and culture of chefs are revealed in the chefs’ own words.

This study generates empirical data that inform contemporary debates about the role of work in identity formation with particular emphasis on the induction–socialisation process. In addition, the findings of this study suggest that identity and culture are interrelated in the sense that the cultural components of an occupational culture operate to reinforce a sense of identity among its occupational members.

The findings suggest that Michelin-starred chefs have a strong occupational identity and culture. Strict rules and discipline are often used in kitchen brigades as a means of monitoring quality and maintaining the high standards of performance. The occupational socialisation of new members is a long and painful process that very often exceeds the limits of banter, and it is analogous to the military induction. The phenomenon of bullying and violence in commercial kitchens is identified as an unacceptable behaviour that needs to be eliminated. This can be achieved with changes in the education and training of the young chefs and the strict enforcement of the anti-bullying policies.

The understanding of chefs’ occupational identity and culture is critical for successful hospitality operations; nevertheless, this is an under-researched area. This study is unique in terms of scale and depth; it is expected to provide useful insights in both theoretical and practical perspective, regarding the formation of chefs’ identity and culture in organisational settings.

Although the importance of teacher induction is widely acknowledged, how teachers experience inductions, particularly those conducted in under-resourced areas, remains underexplored.

This study narrates a novice teacher's induction experience in a Chinese high school, from the perspectives of professional capital and community, social realist theory, practice architecture and teacher agency. The participant, Ming, reflected on a broad array of formal and informal induction activities and participated during the induction period.

Through the three-dimensional narrative space, namely broadening, burrowing and storying and re-storying, five themes emerged from Ming's induction experience: (1) heightened awareness of the meaning of teaching, (2) interacting with various professional communities, (3) professional identity tension and development, (4) the discursive influence of various aspects of culture and (5) the influence on future professional development. Overall, this narrative study shows that teacher expertise and identity development play central roles in teacher induction, and context acts as an important mediating factor in teacher induction. These findings echo the importance of teachers' agency in inductions. The implications for facilitating novice teacher induction are also discussed.

This study contributes to a nuanced understanding of a novice teacher's induction experience in China from the perspectives of practice architectures, professional capital and professional community. The conclusion highlights the importance of professional capital and agency during Ming's induction period. This paper unpacks the complexity of teacher induction by revealing new ways of thinking about induction.

The purpose of this paper is to explore organizational induction as socially situated learning processes. It presents an empirical study of inductees going through an induction program in a medium sized bank and discusses their induction as a dual process of becoming a practitioner and constructing practice.

The research performed is qualitative: ethnographic methods including participant observation and interviews are used, and analysed through an interpretative methodology.

The paper suggests that the divide between the teaching curricula in the induction course and the learning curricula in real life banking contribute to the inductees' ability and desire to engage in the construction of customer service officer practice; the divide itself legitimizes differences in particularities of the practice, and enhances the inductees' ability to enact, accomplish, and construct practice actively.

The paper suggests induction should be viewed as opportunities for organizational learning as much as the training of newcomers to adhere to organizational standards.

The paper presents a novel empirical case exploring socially situated learning. Looking at the confluence of authoring and performative acts allows us to expose the agentic dimension of practices; thus emphasising the construction involved in any practising.