Abstract
Feedback helps employees to evaluate and improve their performance, but there have been relatively few empirical investigations into how leaders can encourage employees to seek feedback. To fill this gap we examined the relationship among delegation, psychological empowerment, and feedback-seeking behavior. We hypothesized that delegation promotes feedback-seeking behavior by psychologically empowering subordinates. In addition, power distance moderates the relationship between delegation and feedback-seeking behavior. Analysis of data from a sample of 248 full-time employees of a hotel group in northern China indicated that delegation predicts subordinates’ feedback seeking for individuals with moderate and high power distance orientation, but not for those with low power distance orientation. The mediation hypothesis was also supported.
Highlights
According to a survey from SHL, a US psychometric testing company, managers spend around 14% of their time redoing tasks and correcting employees’ mistakes and this proportion is even higher in high power distance cultures such as Hong Kong (24%) and India (20%) (The Future Foundation, 2004)
In this study we examined how power distance moderates the impact of delegation on feedback-seeking behavior
We argue that delegation is an antecedent of psychological empowerment
Summary
According to a survey from SHL, a US psychometric testing company, managers spend around 14% of their time redoing tasks and correcting employees’ mistakes and this proportion is even higher in high power distance cultures such as Hong Kong (24%) and India (20%) (The Future Foundation, 2004). People need information about their performance, but most employees do not receive timely feedback on their work. The seeking of feedback occurs when individuals make a conscious effort to seek information about the correctness and adequacy of their behaviors and performance from others (Ashford and Cummings, 1983). Since Ashford and Cummings (1983) proposed the feedback-seeking construct there have been numerous studies exploring its antecedents. Some studies emphasize the role of individual characteristics in tendency to seek feedback, for example there is evidence that desire for useful information, motivation to manage impression, learning goal orientation and high self-esteem drive employees to seek feedback at work (e.g., Fedor et al, 2001; Tuckey et al, 2002; Bernichon et al, 2003; Anseel et al, 2015)
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