Abstract: Research on organizational socialization originated in the 1960s, primarily focusing on the adjustment process of new employees entering an organization. In recent years, the growing prominence of pay inversion—where new employees receive higher pay than incumbent employees—has introduced new challenges to this domain. Unlike previous studies that focus solely on newcomer adjustment, organizational socialization in the context of pay inversion requires attention to the psychological and behavioral adjustment processes of both newcomers and incumbents. To comprehensively uncover the adaptive mechanisms through which newcomers and incumbents respond to pay dispersion, this study integrates multiple theoretical perspectives—including social identity theory, social comparison theory, social information processing theory, and psychological contract theory—to develop a dual-path process model illustrating how pay inversion influences organizational socialization outcomes. The expected contributions will provide a more balanced and interactive perspective for understanding newcomer integration and the changes this process brings to the organization, while offering both theoretical and practical guidance for enterprises in organizational socialization, compensation design, and talent management.

Key words: newcomer, organizational socialization, compensation management, talent management, career management