Employee Receptivity to Three Hundred Sixty Degree Feedback Systems as a Function of Employee Trust and Employee Commitment: An Exploratory Study

The purpose of this quantitative exploratory study was to determine what affect, if any, employee trust, employee commitment, psychological androgyny (an employee sex-role inventory), and various demographic variables have on employee receptivity to 360-degree feedback (R360). Two organizations participated in the study. The first is a large university located in New York; the second is a small consulting firm located in California. A total of 62 participants responded to the 77-item Internet-based survey. The survey was composed of psychometrically adequate constructs developed in earlier studies. Employee trust, a 12-item construct, consisted of 8 items that measured trust in supervisor and 4 items that measured trust in the organization. Employee commitment and R360 used a 7-item construct and 5-item construct, respectively. Four independent variables were found to be statistically linked to R360. Employee commitment, employee trust, income, and level of education accounted for 37.5% of the variance in R360 (p = .044, .027, .028, and .008, respectively). The research findings could have consequential implications, particularly if broader studies find similar results. Specifically, organizational leaders and managers would be able to make informed decisions about possible implementation of 360-degree feedback systems depending on the organizational climate