Abstract
Many organizations categorize employees in terms of potential, labeling some as “high potential” employees. This practice of labeling employees based on their performance potential can create differentiated expectations of performance and, thus, impact their attitudes and behaviors. However, research has not examined the impact of such labels on the recipients’ attitudes following performance feedback. In our laboratory study of 477 undergraduate business students from a large North American university, we examined the effect of “high potential” expectations on task commitment and satisfaction following positive and negative feedback. Our results indicate that such labels can make individuals more sensitive to feedback and consequently create unintentional negative effects on commitment and satisfaction.
Highlights
Many organizations categorize employees in terms of potential, labeling some as “high potential” employees
We investigate whether the initial expectations reflected in the high potential label influence reactions to performance feedback
We are concerned with the effect of labeling individuals in terms of potential performance capabilities on their subsequent task commitment and performance satisfaction following positive and negative feedback
Summary
Many organizations categorize employees in terms of potential, labeling some as “high potential” employees This practice of labeling employees based on their performance potential can create differentiated expectations of performance and, impact their attitudes and behaviors. Our results indicate that such labels can make individuals more sensitive to feedback and create unintentional negative effects on commitment and satisfaction. We are concerned with the effect of labeling individuals in terms of potential performance capabilities on their subsequent task commitment and performance satisfaction following positive and negative feedback. This study makes a contribution by demonstrating that a high potential label can act as a double edge sword, whereby, on the one hand, it can boost performance expectations, while, on the other, it can contribute to a sharper drop in performance satisfaction and task commitment, potentially reducing engagement and retention of the very employees organizations consider most valuable for their future success
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