The Effects of Information Technology and the Perceived Mood of the Feedback Giver on Feedback Seeking

A major tenet in organizational behavior literature is that feedback improves performance. If feedback is thought to improve performance, then individuals should actively seek feedback in their work. Yet, surprisingly, individuals seldom seek feedback perhaps because of face-loss costs of obtaining feedback face-to-face. Furthermore, in cases where the giver is perceived to be in a bad mood, individuals may be even more reluctant to seek feedback if they believe seeking feedback risks the giver's wrath and a negative evaluation. In this paper, we explain how information technology can be designed to mediate feedback communication and deliver feedback that promotes feedback seeking. In a laboratory experiment, the effects of information technology and the perceived mood of the feedback giver on the behavior of feedback seekers are examined. The results showed that individuals in both the computer-mediated feedback environment and the computer-generated feedback environment sought feedback more frequently than individuals in the face-to-face feedback environment. In addition, individuals sought feedback more frequently from a giver who was perceived to be in a good mood than from a giver who was perceived to be in a bad mood.