Beyond the Strategies of Feedback Seeking: A Review and Initial Conceptualization of Feedback-Seeking Styles

Since its introduction into the management literature in 1983, the concept of feedback seeking has continued to enjoy both theoretical and empirical attention. During this time, the strategies of seeking feedback have more than doubled, and the literature about how employees seek feedback over time has become diversified. With this evolution, some researchers have observed that direct feedback inquiries remain relatively stable over time. Alternatively, others have observed decreases in such feedback inquiries when employees stay longer in the organization. This chapter aims to address issues regarding how employees seek feedback. To achieve this, we begin by presenting a dynamic reciprocal model of feedback seeking highlighting three phases (pre-interaction, interaction, and post-interaction). Next, we review some of the empirically identified strategies of feedback seeking. Extending the notion of strategies, we propose the feedback-seeking styles (direct, indirect) and we posit that the style of feedback seeking helps to answer the question of how employees seek feedback over time. We advance the conceptualization of feedback-seeking styles to help reconcile the equivocal findings of strategies over time. Then, we discuss some possible determinants of the configurations of the style. Finally, we conclude this chapter by identifying potentially fruitful avenues for research and practical implications reflecting our expanded notion of feedback-seeking styles.