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

Abstract

Organizational performance feedback theory (PFT), which is derived from the Behavioral Theory of the Firm, has emerged as a key perspective guiding studies investigating how performance relative to aspiration levels (i.e., performance feedback) influences organizational responsiveness. While the PFT literature refers to a core prediction - performance below aspirations induces more responsiveness than performance above aspirations does - empirical evidence reveals considerable conflicting findings. In line with contested issues in the current PFT literature, we propose a series of research questions and more refined predictions, which we elated to specific dimensions of performance feedback (valence, type of aspiration level and performance indicator), type of responsiveness (search versus change), and organizational characteristics (age, form of ownership, and industry). We test these refinements with various meta-analytic approaches, based on 263 effect sizes extracted from 156 studies. Our results demonstrate that the way in which performance feedback influences organizational responsiveness is sensitive to the factors we based our predictions on, with meta-analyzed effect sizes ranging from -0.106 to 0.055. Our findings help to systematically distinguish patterns in the heterogeneity associated with the performance feedback-responsiveness relationship. These results support our contention that more refined explanations, measures, and models of organizational performance feedback are needed.

Unfinished business: integrating individual decision-makers' experience and incentives to organizational performance feedback theory

“…Furthermore, our results indicate that the relationship between performance above aspirations and organizational response is not significant (p = 0.237). These results are in line with the prior meta-analyses on organizational performance feedback (Verver et al, 2019;Kotiloglu et al, 2021;Blettner et al, 2023).…”

When the going gets tough, the entrepreneurs get less entrepreneurial?

“…In line with spline models common in performance feedback studies [23], we cluster all neutral and satisfied entrepreneurs together at pole 4, because we believe that the degree of dissatisfaction is the relevant range. Then, for the sake of interpretation, we reverse code the responses such that higher values reflect harder times.…”

“…This paper contributes to the recently emerging entrepreneurship literature on performance feedback (i.e., performance as an antecedent rather than outcome) [23]. The entrepreneurship context is relevant because it makes decision-makers' individual-level characteristics more impactful.…”

Responsibility of Digital-Based Complain Services at the Honor Board of Election Organizers of the Republic of Indonesia (DKPP RI) During Pandemic

“…Effective and efficient public servants from the government must pay attention to feedback from the community on the services they get and consider the previous government's work performance on the public service policies that have been set (Verver et al, 2019). Public services require responsiveness from state administrators to identify community needs.…”

“…Severalelections have been held uncompetitive due to illegal campaigning practices and manipulative electoral processes still being carried out by those in power and political elites who take advantage of power to regulate government and vital resources. (Verver et al 2019).…”