Spagnoli, P., Livi, S., & Farnese, M. L.
How do newcomers and full member employees conceive organizational socialization? Measurement invariance and construct validity of the Newcomer Socialization Questionnaire in Italy
The Newcomer Socialization Questionnaire (NSQ; Hauter, Hoff Macan, & Winter, 2003) is an interesting multi-level (organization, group, task) measure of the organizational socialization process. The present study is twofold. First, it aimed to extend previous findings on its validity by examining measurement invariance in two groups: newcomers and full member employees. Second, it examined the construct validity of the Italian version of the NSQ. A first study was conducted to test factorial structure and measurement invariance of the NSQ on two groups: 279 newcomers and 284 full members. A latent means comparison was then performed as a further criterion to assess construct validity. In the second study, construct validity was assessed through the correlation between organizational socialization, job satisfaction, performance, and work-family conflict on 476 employees. Evidence of full measurement invariance was found for the two NSQ subscales related to group and task levels, whereas partial measurement invariance was determined for the subscale related to the organizational level. Findings extended previous validation evidence indicating that a comparison between newcomers and full members on organizational socialization should be interpreted with caution. Moreover, evidence supported the construct validity of the Italian version of the NSQ, which could be adopted in Italy for research and practical purposes. Limitations and suggestions for further research are discussed.
Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 2018, Vol. 25, pp. 485-502, DOI: 10.4473/TPM25.4.2
