The effects of met expectations on newcomer attitudes and behaviors: a review and meta-analysis

A review of research on the effects of met expectations for newcomers to organizations located 31 studies of 17,241 people. A meta-analysis found mean (corrected) correlations of .39 for job satisfaction and organizational commitment, .29 for intent to leave, .19 for job survival, and .11 for job performance. However, all of these mean correlations had significant between-studies variance. By using strict conformity with Porter and Steer's (1973) definition of met expectations, we identified a subset of studies that had nonsignificant between-studies variance for all correlations except job satisfaction. Furthermore, the mean correlations in these subgroups were very similar to those for the entire group. Future research should consider both the direction of the met expectations discrepancy (i.e., over- vs. underfulfillment) and alternative ways to measure organizational reality.