Understanding Heterogeneity in the Performance Feedback – Response Relationship: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Organizational performance feedback theory has gained prominence in behavioral strategy research over the last three decades, however a meta-analysis of its empirical findings is still absent. This paper offers a meta-analysis of empirical organizational performance feedback research (259 effect sizes extracted from 154 studies) from the last three decades, while building on several narrative reviews of this literature. Despite the fact that the large majority of this body of literature follow one baseline prediction - i.e. negative performance feedback induces higher likelihood of organizational responses, than positive performance feedback does - our findings reveal a wide variety of performance feedback - response relations. Our meta-analysis shows that organizational performance feedback theory offers relatively stronger empirical evidence for organizational search responses as compared to organizational change responses. Furthermore, a series of moderation analyses reveals that both model and organizational contingencies explain heterogeneity in performance feedback - response relations significantly. Our results thus show that organizational responses to performance feedback are highly context-dependent and indicate support for a more fine-grained, information processing perspective on performance feedback theory.