Effects of Career Aspirations of New Generation Employees on Proactive Socialization Behavior

Abstract

Organizational socialization of the new generation of employees has become a hot topic affecting the sustainable development of organizations. From the perspective of a proactive motivation model, the mechanism of career aspirations on new generation employees’ proactive socialization behaviors was explored. Three hundred three responses were gathered from an online survey. The results show that career aspirations were positively associated with proactive socialization behavior. Sense of hope played a mediating role in the relationship between career aspirations and proactive socialization behavior. Perceived organizational support moderated the relationship between career aspirations and a sense of hope. As employees’ perception of organizational support increases, the positive effect of career aspirations on a sense of hope is weakened. Our findings help to understand why new generation employees exhibit proactive socialization behavior and provide management insights for organizations to motivate new generation employees to take proactive socialization behaviors.