Power, process and figuration during organisational socialization: A process-figurational approach to organisational socialization

Drawing on the process-figurational sociology of Norbert Elias, this paper presents a process theory perspective on organizational socialization and newcomer-veteran dynamics during organizational entry. The concept of ‘figuration’ as the unplanned social order which emerges through the interaction of interdependent people, and the temporal-relational view of power as a fluctuating balance of tensions characteristic to any flow of figuration, is explored in the paper to open up new vistas in organizational socialization research. Exploring the figurational perspective of Elias with regard to newcomer-veteran relationships in today’s organizations is motivated by a case study observation of a switched established-outsider configuration between case study newcomers and case study veterans in a rapid growing organization. The case study is conducted in support departments of a large Danish industrial company.