Diary studies, a double‐edged sword? An experimental exploration of possible distortions due to daily reporting of social interactions

Abstract

SummaryDiary studies on social interactions are increasingly common in management research. Yet due to the high demands involved, participants may experience burden and respond by showing insufficient effort responding (IER). Moreover, repeated reflection on the variables of interest may change individuals' perceptions of their work, thereby compromising the benefits of diary studies. We investigated these two effects in a sample of 444 participants in an exploratory experiment on different diary‐writing conditions. Perceptions and evaluation of the work environment were assessed before and after a 2‐week diary‐writing period in which participants reported on daily interactions at work. Participants were randomly assigned to one of five conditions differing in length and affective valence of the required report or to a control group without a diary. Results show that IER increases over time, especially when participants report negative (vs. positive) interactions at work. Changes in work‐related perceptions only occurred in team‐member‐exchange as a result of reporting negative work interactions. We discuss reasons for the absence of effects for the other outcomes. Finally, we provide implications for designing and conducting diary research and suggestions for future studies examining diary methodology.