A Strategy Map’s Effect on the Feedback That Middle Managers Pass Along to Upper Management
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-2020
Abstract
Feedback from lower-level employees helps upper management know when a strategy revision is necessary. Middle managers have significant control over upper management’s access to lower-level employee feedback because they decide whether to pass along that feedback when they receive it. A strategy map may help mitigate bias in these middle managers’ feedback reporting decisions. In my experiment, participants act as middle managers who receive one of two types of lower-level employee feedback: positive feedback or negative feedback. Without a strategy map, participants over-report positive feedback, under-report negative feedback, and exhibit motivated reasoning toward negative feedback. With a strategy map, participants over-report positive feedback less, under-report negative feedback at the same rate, and their motivated reasoning against negative feedback no longer affects their reporting willingness. Thus, a strategy map could help de-bias some of the feedback middle managers pass along to upper management.
Publication Information
Knox, Brian D.. (2020). "A Strategy Map’s Effect on the Feedback That Middle Managers Pass Along to Upper Management". Journal of Management Control, 30(4), 381-404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00187-020-00293-1