Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1999

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Major Professor

Joyce E. A. Russell

Abstract

Despite the growing popularity of multisource feedback programs, there has been limited research on employees' reactions to multisource feedback regarding their work performance. The current study examined how the characteristics of the performance ratings that were received were related to affective (satisfaction with the feedback process), cognitive (acceptance of feedback), and behavioral reactions (intentions to improve work performance) to multisource feedback. The study proposed that employees' affective and cognitive reactions to feedback would be motivated by self enhancement biases, while behavioral reactions to feedback would be motivated by self regulation processes.The current study was conducted as part of a developmental multisource feedback program in a large southeastern utility company. Data collection occurred in two waves and included information from 401 feedback recipients (employees) and 2881 feedback givers (managers, direct reports, peers, and self-raters). In the first wave, feedback givers provided performance ratings for the target employees. In the second wave, afterfeedback recipients received their multisource feedback reports, they completed feedback reaction questionnaires.The results indicated that multisource feedback ratings were unrelated to feedback recipients' satisfaction with the feedback process. Other ratings (managers, direct reports,and peers) and self-ratings were positively related to feedback recipients' acceptance of feedback. In addition, an interaction was obtained between self-ratings and manager ratings indicating that the degree of discrepancy between self-ratings and manager ratings was positively related to acceptance of performance feedback from managers.Within-source rating agreement for direct reports and peers was positively related to acceptance of feedback. However, the prediction that the relationship between feedback acceptance and within-source rating agreement would be stronger for low performance ratings was not supported.Results further revealed that ratings from managers and direct reports were not related to feedback recipients' intentions to improve work performance. However, marginally significant negative relationship was revealed between peer ratings and intentions to improve work performance, meaning that employees who received lowerratings from their peers were more likely to say that they would improve their performance. Self-ratings and efficacy to improve work performance were both positively related to intentions to improve work performance. In other words, employees who gave themselves higher ratings, and employees who believed they could improve their performance, were more likely to indicate that they intended to improve their work performance. Additionally, an interaction between efficacy to improve work performance and self-ratings was obtained. The interaction revealed that when efficacy to improve work performance was high, the relationship between self-ratings and intentions to improve work performance was positive. However, when efficacy was low.the relationship between self-ratings and intentions to improve work performance was negative. Contrary to predictions, the degree of discrepancy between self-ratings and ratings from others was not related to behavioral reactions.Limitations of the present study are presented. Practical and theoretical implications of the study's findings are discussed, and directions for future research are proposed.

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