Proactivity or withdrawal? The role of attributions in employee psychological and behavioral responses to leader high performance expectations
研究揭示领导者高绩效期望如何因员工归因不同而引发主动或退缩行为，基于321名员工的三轮调查数据，发现归因于利他动机促进主动行为，归因于自利动机导致退缩。
In today’s fiercely competitive market landscape, leader high performance expectations (LHPEs) are increasingly integrated into performance management practices in the workplace. However, this adoption may yield a performance management paradox: while some argue that high performance expectations prompt proactive employee engagement, others assert that such expectations induce withdrawal. Our study aims to unveil this paradox and its underlying mechanisms. Drawing upon insights from the HR attributions literature and the job demands-resources model, we propose that the impact of LHPE is contingent upon employees’ attributions for this practice. Specifically, employees attributing LHPE to prosocial motives experience a sense of thriving at work, leading to increased engagement in proactive behavior (the motivational pathway). Conversely, those attributing LHPE to self-interest motives experience distress at work and tend to withdraw (the strain pathway). Our hypotheses are supported by the results of a three-wave survey involving 321 employees. Overall, our findings underscore the crucial role of employee attributions in implementing LHPE as a performance management strategy, offering insights into its optimal utilization.