Learning From the Diverse Perspectives and Voice of Newcomers: A Contingency Model

New organizational members can be an essential source to work teams. Yet, it is unclear whether teams can leverage newcomers’ distinct backgrounds, knowledge, and expertise through communicative processes to improve team effectiveness. This study develops and tests a theoretical account of the efficacy of newcomer communicative behavior for boosting team effectiveness. In doing so, this study specified the circumstances in which a positive relationship between the two is likely to occur. Results (N =160 teams) showed that newcomer voices’ positive influence on post-entry team performance was contingent upon individual-, team-, and organization-level boundary conditions, including age dissimilarity, team adaptability, and competitive intensity.