Performance Feedback: A Critical Systematic Review

Abstract

This critical systematic review responds to recent calls to untangle the fragmented state of the performance feedback literature. Even though performance feedback has a long history of being researched within the fields of organizational behavior and management, there has been no systematic review of the entire literature on performance feedback for almost three decades. Our review highlights that there are many different labels and contrasting definitions given to “feedback” and a lack of research specifying feedback valence, which limits our understanding and theory building. We further demonstrate that current research indicates that positive feedback consistently enhances performance, whereas negative feedback requires specific moderating variables or a high-quality supervisor–subordinate relationship to be effective. Synthesizing the results, we demonstrate for which factors and theoretical frameworks' robust evidence exists, and we contribute to developing a comprehensive programmatic theory of performance feedback: the performance feedback valence theory.