The Effects of Star Newcomers on Team Performance

While previous research has predominantly focused on the socialization processes and consequences of ordinary newcomers who are characterized by a lack of familiarity, high reliance on others, making more mistakes and errors, and facing more uncertainty and stress, star newcomers have received less attention. Differing from ordinary newcomers, star newcomer socialization not only involves the adjustment and adaptation of the newcomer but also induces changes and adaptations within the team. This dissertation, based on human capital theory, delves into the mechanisms and implications of star newcomer entry process. In particular, it scrutinizes the team adaptation resulting from star newcomer performance under the condition of newcomer adaptation––the integrative influences of team adaptation for star newcomers and star newcomer adaptation during their socialization process––on team performance. The empirical research based on 33,945 observations of 586 star newcomers drawn from North American basketball clubs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) shows that star newcomer performance and prior team performance interactively determine team adaptation for star newcomers, which subsequently negatively associates with team performance. Star newcomer adaptation buffers the negative association between team adaptation for star newcomers and team performance. The findings contribute to research on newcomer socialization, team dynamic process, and star performers, along with offering insights to practitioners in facilitating a more efficient star newcomer socialization and fostering better team performance.