An Examination of the Effects of an Upward Feedback Program Over Time

Despite the growing popularity of upward feedback programs, there has been very little research on the effects of upward feedback on changes in managerial performance over time. We examined the effects of implementing an upward feedback program in which subordinates' ratings were collected for 238 first‐through fifth‐level managers in a large corporation at two points in time about 6 months apart. Research questions drawn from goal‐setting, control, and social cognition theories guided our investigation of the effects of (a) receiving feedback, (b) completing self‐ratings, (c) managers' initial level of performance, and (d) subordinate's familiarity with the manager on changes over time in the level of ratings and reported opportunity to observe managerial behaviors. Ratings were provided on a 33‐item behavioral observation scale that focused on areas such as the manager's commitment to quality, communications, support of subordinates (encouraging participation, coaching), and fairness. Based on subordinates' ratings, managers whose initial level of performance was moderate or low improved over the 6‐month period, and this improvement could not be attributed solely to regression to the mean. Also, both managers and their subordinates became more likely over time to indicate that the managers had an opportunity to demonstrate behaviors measured by the upward feedback instrument.