Supervisor Developmental Feedback and New Employees’ Performance: The Role of Perceived Insider Status and Core Self-Evaluation

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240318

Abstract

Abstract: As employees change jobs more frequently and the cost of replacing employees increases, understanding and managing the socialization process will provide organizations with a competitive advantage. Thus, how to effectively retain human resources is still a major issue of concern. Especially for new employees, the transition to a new job or role is inherently challenging and stressful. Adequate resources are effective for new employees’ adjustment and successful socialization. As an important resource holder, managers can foster the speed of new employees’ adaptation by providing supporting resources. Supervisor developmental feedback refers to the useful information provided by the supervisor to enable the employee to learn, develop, and improve their work, and to improve the employee’s work attitude and behavior. Based on the resource conservation theory, this study introduced supervisor developmental feedback into the special context of organizational socialization and characterized task performance and work initiative as the result of organizational socialization. Meanwhile, it developed the mediating mechanism of perceived insider status between supervisor developmental feedback and organizational socialization outcome. To further examine the positive meanings of supervisor developmental feedback to organizational socialization, this study explored a boundary condition of this association in order to understand the contexts under which the strength of this relationship may vary.
In this study, we collected data from enterprises in Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangdong Province, mainly in service and manufacturing industries. Based on the three-wave data from 172 leader-employee dyads, we tested the hypothesis through data analysis by SPSS and MPLUS. The results showed that the supervisor developmental feedback can promote the new employee to form the perceived insider status, thus further improving the new employee's task performance and work proactivity. Core self-evaluation positively moderated the indirect effect of supervisor developmental feedback on task performance and work proactivity. Specifically, the above indirect effects are significantly strengthened when the new employee’s core self-evaluation is high.
The results have substantial implications for both practice and research. First of all, based on the resource conservation theory, this study takes the supervisor developmental feedback as an important resource, investigates the influence of the supervisor developmental feedback on the organizational socialization of new employees, and broadens the scope of application of the theory. Secondly, this study proves the validity of supervisor developmental feedback, which has a positive effect on new employee's identity and work behavior. Finally, this paper discusses the moderating effect of core self-evaluation which is a new employee’s personal trait, and provides a more comprehensive view, namely, individuals with high core self-evaluation can make better use of the resources given by their supervisors to realize organizational socialization.
In addition, findings of this study provide practical strategies for organizations to retain new employees. On the one hand, supervisors should focus on the form of feedback to new employees, in a developmental and supportive way to effectively promote the new employees to complete the role identities transformation and adaptation. On the other hand, supervisors should pay attention to the effect of new employees’ personal characteristics on the process of organization socialization, and carry out targeted management measures.

Key words: supervisor developmental feedback, perceived insider status, task performance, work proactivity, core self-evaluation

摘要： 基于资源保存理论,本研究探讨了上级发展性反馈对新员工任务绩效和工作主动性的影响机制以及核心自我评价的调节作用。通过对3个时间点领导者—员工配对数据进行分析,结果表明：上级发展性反馈能够促进新员工的内部人身份感知,进一步提高任务绩效和工作主动性;核心自我评价在上述路径中起调节作用,对于高核心自我评价的新员工而言,上级发展性反馈通过内部人身份感知对任务绩效和工作主动性产生的积极影响更强。

关键词: 上级发展性反馈, 内部人身份感知, 任务绩效, 工作主动性, 核心自我评价

Zhao Shenran, Zhao Junzhe, Wang Minghui, Zhao Guoxiang. Supervisor Developmental Feedback and New Employees’ Performance: The Role of Perceived Insider Status and Core Self-Evaluation[J]. Journal of Psychological Science, 2024, 47(3): 657-663.

赵申苒, 赵君哲, 王明辉, 赵国祥. 上级发展性反馈对新员工绩效的影响:内部人身份感知和核心自我评价的作用机制^*[J]. 心理科学, 2024, 47(3): 657-663.

References

[1] 耿紫珍, 赵佳佳, 丁琳. (2020). 中庸的智慧: 上级发展性反馈影响员工创造力的机理研究. 南开管理评论, 23(1), 75-86.
[2] 侯昭华, 宋合义, 薛贤, 谭乐. (2022). 研发主管辱虐管理总是抑制员工工作重塑吗?——一个被调节的双路径模型. 科技管理研究, 42(6), 124-134.
[3] 贾艳玲, 李好, 王宁. (2020). 发展性反馈对大学生新员工创新行为的影响——学习目标导向和内部人身份感知的作用. 华东经济管理, 34(7), 118-128.
[4] 李树文, 罗瑾琏. (2020). 领导-下属情绪评价能力一致与员工建言: 内部人身份感知与性别相似性的作用. 心理学报, 52(9), 1121-1131.
[5] 李燕萍, 郑馨怡, 刘宗华. (2017). 基于资源保存理论的内部人身份感知对员工建言行为的影响机制研究. 管理学报, 14(2), 196-204.
[6] 刘源. (2021). 多变量追踪研究的模型整合与拓展: 考察往复式影响与增长趋势. 心理科学进展, 29(10), 1755-1772.
[7] 毛伊娜, 潘然, 张伟. (2020). 构建职场排斥三方互动的理论模型——社会平衡理论的视角. 心理科学进展, 28(2), 191-205.
[8] 王明辉. (2006). 企业员工组织社会化内容结构及其相关研究 (博士学位论文). 暨南大学, 广州.
[9] 杨柳. (2021). 新员工增加社会资源行为对内部人身份感知的影响——一项经验取样研究. 心理科学, 44(3), 691-697.
[10] Ellis A. M., Bauer T. N., Mansfield L. R., Erdogan B., Truxillo D. M., & Simon L. S. (2015). Navigating uncharted waters: Newcomer socialization through the lens of stress theory. Journal of Management, 41(1), 203-235.
[11] Fang R. L., McAllister D. J., & Duffy M. K. (2017). Down but not out: Newcomers can compensate for low vertical access with strong horizontal ties and favorable core self-evaluations. Personnel Psychology, 70(3), 517-555.
[12] Griffin M. A., Neal A., & Parker S. K. (2007). A new model of work role performance: Positive behavior in uncertain and interdependent contexts. Academy of Management Journal, 50(2), 327-347.
[13] Gross C., Debus M. E., Liu Y. H., Wang M., & Kleinmann M. (2021). I am nice and capable! How and when newcomers' self-presentation to their supervisors affects socialization outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(7), 1067-1079.
[14] Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50(3), 337-421.
[15] Hobfoll S. E., Halbesleben J., Neveu J. P., & Westman M. (2018). Conservation of resources in the organizational context: The reality of resources and their consequences. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5(1), 103-128.
[16] Judge T. A., Erez A., Bono J. E., & Thoresen C. J. (2003). The core self-evaluations scale: Development of a measure. Personnel Psychology, 56(2), 303-331.
[17] Lai F. Y., Lin C. C., Lu S. C., & Chen H. L. (2021). The role of team-member exchange in proactive personality and employees' proactive behaviors: The moderating effect of transformational leadership. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 28(4), 429-443.
[18] Li N., Harris T. B., Boswell W. R., & Xie Z. T. (2011). The role of organizational insiders' developmental feedback and proactive personality on newcomers' performance: An interactionist perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(6), 1317-1327.
[19] Ma J., Peng Y. S., & Wu B. (2021). Challenging or hindering? The roles of goal orientation and cognitive appraisal in stressor-performance relationships. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 42(3), 388-406.
[20] Peltokorpi, V., & Michel, J. (2021). The moderating effect of core self-evaluations between the relationships of work-family conflict and voluntary turnover, job promotions and physical health. Stress and Health, 37(1), 162-174.
[21] Stamper, C. L., & Masterson, S. S. (2002). Insider or outsider? How employee perceptions of insider status affect their work behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23(8), 875-894.
[22] Su W. L., Lin X. Q., & Ding H. (2019). The influence of supervisor developmental feedback on employee innovative behavior: A moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 1581.
[23] Ten Brummelhuis, L. L., & Bakker, A. B. (2012). A resource perspective on the work-home interface: The work-home resources model. American Psychologist, 67(7), 545-556.
[24] Thomas, H. D. C., & Anderson, N. (1998). Changes in newcomers' psychological contracts during organizational socialization: A study of recruits entering the British army. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19, 745-767.
[25] Williams, L. J., & Anderson, S. E. (1991). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in-role behaviors. Journal of Management, 17(3), 601-617.
[26] Yin C. Q., Zhang Y. J., & Lu L. (2021). Employee-oriented CSR and unethical pro-organizational behavior: The role of perceived insider status and ethical climate rules. Sustainability, 13(12), Article 6613.
[27] Zhou, J. (2003). When the presence of creative coworkers is related to creativity: Role of supervisor close monitoring, developmental feedback, and creative personality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(3), 413-422.
[28] Zhou J. Y., Li N., & Chi W. (2022). Getting ahead or getting along? How motivational orientations forge newcomers' cohort network structures, task assistance, and turnover. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 43(3), 410-429.