摘要：Entrepreneurial small firms (ESFs) are characterized by a
permanent dynamic of innovation not only regarding their commercial
offers, but also their organizational processes. Potentially, newcomers play
a key role in the maintenance of this innovation dynamic, but there is a lack
of knowledge regarding their socialization. In this research, we develop an
understanding of socialization processes in ESFs by taking an institutional
work perspective. Through a qualitative, longitudinal and inductive
research design based on two case studies, we make several
contributions. First, we identify different socialization activities enforced
jointly and separately by newcomers and insiders. Second, we explain the
dynamics of these activities with the achievement of two socialization
outcomes: maintenance of institutionalized roles and the creation of new
ones. Our results enrich the organizational socialization literature by
introducing a new field of enquiry and by showing that role creation can be
a major distal outcome of socialization processes. We also develop new
perspectives on institutional work by demonstrating the importance of
newcomers and the dimensions of agency at play during socialization
processes.
关键词：entrepreneurial small firms; newcomers; socialization
processes; institutional work; role maintenance and creation
