Positive feedback is not fully effective in all situations

Abstract

This experimental study investigated how leader-member exchange (LMX) and positive feedback pertinent to the goal is related to subordinates' responsibility, assessment of their supervisors, and feeling of being implicitly scolded, to elaborate and confirm the findings of Bezuijen et al. (2010). We hypothesized that positive feedback pertinent to the goal would be more effective compared to unrelated feedback. Secondly, we hypothesized that this effect would be moderated by the quality of LMX. Undergraduate students (29 male, 51 female; 20.4 ±.63 yrs) participated as subordinates in an experiment consisting of two sessions. The results supported our hypotheses. We found that the positive feedback pertinent to the goal led to increased levels of responsibility. This effect was greater under high-quality LMX conditions, but was inhibited under low-quality LMX conditions. In the high-quality LMX condition, subordinates who did not get any feedback decreased their responsibility, gave lower supervisor assessment ratings, and felt more strongly scolded than under conditions where they received feedback. We discussed the importance of the combination of the quality of the relationship and positive feedback related to the goal, and provided directions for future research.