When Does Job Insecurity Lead to Feedback-Seeking Behavior? The Counterintuitive Moderating Role of Perceived Organizational Support

• Published in: Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 850 - 861
• Main Authors: Li, Zhang, Long, Chen, Er-Yue, Teng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2018; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavioral Science and Psychology; Employees; Feedback (Psychology); Job security; Organizational behavior; Psychological aspects; Psychological research; Psychology; Social Sciences; China; Feedback-seeking behavior; Perceived organizational support; Collectivism value; Job insecurity
• ISSN: 1046-1310; 1936-4733
• DOI: 10.1007/s12144-017-9558-z

A competitive business environment makes organizations increasingly dependent on their employees to proactively seek feedback aimed at improving job performance and requires organizations to frequently engage in restructuring activities that may cause employees to experience job insecurity. This poses an important theoretical puzzle regarding the relationship between job insecurity and feedback-seeking behavior. This study clarifies this relationship by addressing the moderating role of perceived organizational support and provides a mechanism that explains the mechanism behind the moderating process. This study builds a mediated moderating model by drawing from the uncertainty reduction and social exchange theories. By analyzing data collected from 567 employees of manufacturing enterprises in China, we find that the relationship between job insecurity and feedback-seeking behavior is negative under conditions of high perceived organizational support and is positive under conditions of low perceived organizational support. Collectivism value can mediate the moderating role of perceived organizational support.