Newcomers as change agents: Effects of newcomers' behavioral style and teams' performance optimism

Newcomers are often viewed as passive targets of influence, but they can be active sources of innovation as well. In this study, three‐person teams worked on a computer‐based air‐surveillance task for three shifts. Team performance in Shifts 1 and 2 was varied to manipulate members' performance optimism for Shift 3 (low, moderate, or high). At the beginning of Shift 3, a low‐status team member was replaced by a (confederate) newcomer who used either an assertive or non‐assertive behavioral style in suggesting that the team adopt a new task strategy. Teams' performance optimism and newcomers' behavioral style influenced teams' receptivity to newcomers' suggestions and evaluations of newcomers. Implications of the findings for understanding newcomer‐induced innovation are discussed.