The first part of the model depicted in Figure 1 shows the effects of supervisors’ positive feedback on newcomers’ energy at work. Supervisors’ feedback given to employees is key for organisations in regard to boosting competitive advantages (Albrecht, Bakker, Grumen, Macey, & Saks, 2015), and for employees in regard to motivation for better performance (McCarthy & Garavan, 2006). The degree to which a worker is mentally inspired in the workplace can be expressed as energy at work (Reis, Sheldon, Gable, Roscoe, & Ryan & Deci, 2000; Ryan & Frederick, 1997). Feedback is an institutional resource that supervisors’ use for inspiring, motivating, and directing employees in order for them to attain better performance (Ashford & Cummings, 1983). Supervisors’ feedback has the power to increase employees’ efforts (the energy they invest) in regard to their work performance and it can also internally motivate them, and shape their attitude (Alfes, Shantz, Truss, & Soane, 2013; Lonsdale, & Stewart, 2016). To boost their team’s performance, supervisors invest resources in their employees (Tepper, Moss, & Duffy, 2011). In line with this thought, COR theory posits that supervisors’ positive feedback as a resource investment helps newcomers to gain new resources or retain the existing resources (Hobfoll, 1998, 2001). This implies that supervisors’ resources (feedback) have the power to motivate employees to attain better performance. Some researchers have argued that, positive feedback as a source of motivation reinforces employees’ achievements through energy at work (DeNisi & Sonesh, 2011; Kluger & DeNisi, 1996). Thus, supervisors’ positive feedback makes newcomers’ more energetic in the workplace. The more the newcomers receive positive feedback from their supervisors, the more energetic they will be in the workplace. Thus, we formulated the following hypothesis:

Individuals frequently have imperfect information about their performance and, abilities, and may even have incorrect information about others (Moore & Healy, 2008). Overconfidence is the act of incorrectly holding an excessively positive view of one’s own capacities (Moore & Healy, 2008). It has been defined across three different categories, (1) overestimation of one’s actual performance, (2) the incorrect placement of one’s performance as being better than others, which we consider in our study, and (3) extreme inaccuracy in one’s beliefs. Overestimation and over placement were defined by Grieco and Hogarth (2009) as scenarios in which employees understate the performance of others and believe they are better than others. The first area of expertise, skill or knowledge acquired is the sources of overestimation of one’s capacity (Alicke, 1985). In the same scenario, the positive feedback employees received from their supervisors made newcomers value themselves highly and feel overconfident.

The literatures posits that, feedback is key to achieving better results in the workplace (Linderbaum & Levy, 2010; Smither & London, 2002). However, there is a common argument that positive feedback always leads to better performance. Limited research considers the negative effects of positive feedback. Often, receiving feedback and prizes have less effect on task performance than may be expected, even when leading to feelings of overconfidence (Bandura, 1997). When employees receive positive feedback, it indicates the partial achievement of a goal, with the implication that less effort is required to be successful (Carver & Scheier, 1998; Higgins, Hartley, & Skelton, 2000). Supporting this line of thought, positive feedback from supervisors within a short time period leads newcomers to feel less energetic and experience feelings of overconfidence in the workplace. Therefore, we argue that supervisors’ feedback leads newcomers to feelings of overconfidence. Thus, the overconfidence hypothesis predicted that the supervisors’ positive feedback makes newcomers feel as if they are better than others, resulting in high levels of overconfidence. Thus, we formulated the following hypothesis:

Intrinsic motivation causes the act of doing something without any external reward (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Researchers have argued that there is some sort of cause and effect relationship between organisational help (feedback) and workers performance (Colquitt, LePine, & Noe, 2000; Kraiger, 2003). We believe that intrinsic motivation may represent a key variable that can be used as a moderator. Researchers suggested that intrinsic motivation and task performance are highly correlated (Kuvaas, 2006; Piccolo & Colquitt, 2006; Zapata 2009). Our main argument is that, supervisors’ positive feedback makes newcomers feel energetic and sometimes overconfident, but this situation will be more or less pronounced depending on their level of intrinsic motivation. Thus, supervisors’ positive feedback influences newcomers’ energy and overconfidence at work. Intrinsically motivated employees are more energetic in the workplace and work constructively (Deci & Ryan, 2000). For instance, first, intrinsically motivated employees are more energetic and active than those who are less intrinsically motivated (Gagne & Deci, 2005). Second, intrinsically inspired employees are in all probability more energetic than others (Ryan & Deci , 2000). Finally, as mentioned by Sheldon and Kasser (1995), intrinsic motivation confers energy when human beings choose to work on various duties, since they find the work interesting, their involvement will be more vital, excited, and energetic. We thus argue that, intrinsic motivation can moderate the indirect effect of supervisors’ positive feedback on newcomers’ energy at work.

On the other hand, because of motivation, some individuals experience overconfidence and want to be better than others in regard to different issues, such as honesty (Brown, 2011), and being accepted by others (Zuckerman & Jost, 2001). Alicke and Govorun (2005) also argue that overconfidence is promoted by the motivation within a person, but is not causally linked to intrinsic motivation. We tested how such overconfident behaviour can be managed using intrinsic motivation in regard to newcomers in the workplace. According to COR theory (Hobfoll, 1988, 1989, 1998), initial resource loss will lead to resource loss in the future. As a result of supervisors’ positive feedback, newcomers may feel overconfident, but this can be mediated by intrinsic motivation. Therefore, intrinsic motivation weakens the relationship between supervisors’ positive feedback and newcomers’ overconfidence in the workplace. We thus formulated the following hypotheses:

Although there are rapid improvements being made in this area, investigations into situational factors that affect newcomers’ information seeking are limited (Ashford & Dark, 1996). Employees information-seeking behaviour is influenced by situational factors in the workplace, which will also affect task performance (Werner et al., 2016). Highly energetic workers tend to spend more time and energy on their information searches (Seiders, Flynn, Berry, & Haws, 2015). Connected to this, newcomers with high levels of energy at work can have great deal of desire to information seeking in order to enhance their performances. Energy is equipped with the ability to make job performance attractive in a number of ways. First, the literature has proved that when employees are energetic, it generally has a dynamic effect on their information-seeking performance (De Lange et al., 2006; Wealthy et al., 2010). Second, without energy, employees’ efforts to participate in information seeking will be challenged. When employees are energetic, they tend to have a great deal of desire to seek information (Quinn, Spreitzer, & Lam, 2012). To summarise, we argue that newcomers’ energy at work has a positive noteworthy impact connected to information seeking during the first 90 days of their employment. Thus, we formulated the following hypothesis:

Many researchers have argued that overconfidence has a negative effect on employees’ performance in the workplace. First, a study on trade performance suggested that there is a negative relationship between overconfidence and information seeking because overconfident workers underestimate market uncertainty (Biais, 2004). Related to this, newcomers who have received positive feedback from their supervisors’ may underestimate the value of that feedback, and thus be less sensitive to information seeking. According to COR theory (Hobfoll, 1989), the inconsistent impact of resource loss (feelings of overconfidence) is seen as having a high impact on resource loss (poor information seeking). Second, overconfident investors tend to overestimate their capacities or the exactness of their information (Odean, 1998). Thus, they usually depend on only the information they have at the time. In this manner, we believe that overconfidence makes newcomers depend on only their information which they have at a time. Third, a significant level of overconfidence in one’s expectations of one’s own success may motivate individuals to limit their information searching (Zacharakis & Shepherd, 2001). When employees are overconfident, they restrict their desire for information seeking (Cooper, Folta, & Woo, 1995; Harvey & Green, 1994; Mahajan, 1992). Thus, we formulated the following hypothesis:

Information seeking can enhance employees’ performance and narrow the gap between employees’ knowledge and performance (Khaddage, Knezek, & Baker, 2012). However, the relationship between information seeking and employees’ performance depends on the context at hand. When employees experience overconfidence, their motivation to seek information will be too limited in some contexts and too high in other. Many researchers have argued that there is a negative relationship between overconfidence and information seeking (Anderson, Baker, & Robinson, 2015, Calcagno & Monticone, 2013; Georgarakos & Inderst, 2011). As a result of dependency on self-information, overconfident individuals are less eager to seek information from other sources in the workplace. We posit that, as a result of supervisors’ positive feedback, newcomers feel overconfident which results in them becoming less sensitive to information seeking, ultimately impacting their task performance. Therefore, information seeking can mediate the relationship between newcomers’ overconfidence and task performance in the workplace.

Information access is often considered as better direction for employees (Arnone, Cascio, & Parenti, 2019). Allen (1996) argued that employees who seek information during their socialisation processes are more energetic in the workplace. Employees information seeking is influenced by organisational constraints such as the context of the information seeking (Dervin, 1997; Johnson & Johnson, 1996, 2003). Researchers have argued that, when newcomers are motivated by colleagues or leaders, they tend to be very eager to seek information (Cummings, 1983). This implies that their leader’s motivation is a cause for employees’ energy in the workplace. Therefore, supervisors’ positive feedback followed by energy at work can influence employee’s task performance. Information seeking ensures that newcomers’ energy at work can contribute to the enhancement of one’s capability to carry out the assigned tasks (Figure 1). Therefore, the relationship between newcomers’ energy at work and task performance can be strengthened by information seeking. Thus, we formulated the following hypotheses:

Data were collected in four rounds, each round separated by 15-days, from newcomers and their immediate supervisors in a large high-tech manufacturing company in northern China. ‘Newcomers’ in our context refers to employees who joined the company less than 6 months ago. Initially, we visited the company in order to obtain permission from the CEO to conduct the study. After receiving permission in collaboration with the company’s human resource department (HRD), we described the aim of the study, invited respondents, and assured the confidentiality of their responses. Based on the list of respondents obtained from the HRD we assigned numbers to each newcomer and their direct supervisors in order to identify newcomer-supervisor dyads. Measurement instruments used for data collection were in English. To check the reliability and validity of our measurements, we used double translation method (Brislin, 1980).

Surveys were sent to 322 newcomers and their supervisors at four separate intervals. A gap of 2 weeks was maintained between each of the four rounds of data collection to minimise potential common method bias and reduce respondent fatigue (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003). After that, the newcomers and their supervisors were asked to complete printed questionnaires. We provided a sealed envelope with a pen inside, and a questionnaire for each participant. The newcomers were asked to report the control variables, their supervisors’ positive feedback, and their level of intrinsic motivation during Time 1. Of the 322 newcomers, 278 returned completed questionnaires with a response rate of 86.3%. Two weeks later, the newcomers who had completed the first survey reported their energy at work and overconfidence at Time 2. Of the total participants, 215 newcomers completed the survey at Time 2 with a response rate of 66.7%. At Time 3, the newcomers were also asked to rate their level of information seeking. Supervisors were asked to evaluate the performance of the newcomers at Time 4. From the total 322 newcomer-supervisor dyads, complete data were obtained from 229 newcomers with a response rate of 71.11%. After we collected all of the valid questionnaires, we gave 30 Chinese yuan to the participants who had actively participated in the surveys, as a token of our gratitude.

This article followed all ethical standards for research without direct contact with human or animal subjects.

The results are presented in Figure 2. The fit indices of the whole model showed that the data fit the model well (χ²(9) = 25, Comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.949, TuckerLewis index (TLI) = 0.897, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.088, Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = 0.058). Hypothesis 1 and Hypothesis 2 posit that supervisors’ positive feedback given to newcomers is positively related to energy at work (β = 0.502, p < 0.001), and overconfidence (β = 0.357, p < 0.001). Thus, Hypotheses 1 and 2 are supported.

Hypotheses 3a and 3b posit that newcomers’ intrinsic motivation may enhance the positive effects of supervisors’ positive feedback given to newcomers on their energy and overconfidence at work. To investigate these elements, the interaction term of supervisors’ positive feedback given to newcomers and intrinsic motivation was introduced into the model. The results showed that the interaction is positively related with energy at work (β = 0.344, p < 0.001), while it is not related significantly to overconfidence (β = –0.042, ns). Figure 3 shows the moderated effect of newcomers’ intrinsic motivation on the effects of supervisors’ positive feedback given to newcomers on energy at work. Thus, Hypothesis 3a is supported and Hypothesis 3b is not supported.

Hypothesis 4 proposed that newcomers’ energy at work has a positive effect on information seeking, which is supported with a positively significant effect (β = 0.558, p < 0.001). Hypothesis 5 indicating that newcomers’ overconfidence at work has a negative effect on information seeking is supported with a negatively significant coefficient (β = –0.388, p < 0.001). Thus, both Hypothesis 4 and Hypothesis 5 are supported.

To test the mediation effect of information seeking, a sample of 2000 Monte Carlo replications using the parameter bootstrap method was employed. The results showed that the indirect effect of newcomers’ energy at work on task performance via information seeking is 0.310 (95% CI = [0.194, 0.439]). The negative indirect effect of newcomers’ overconfidence on supervisor-rated task performance is –0.215 (95% CI = [–0.304, –0.143]). Thus, Hypothesis 6a and Hypothesis 6b indicate that information seeking mediates the relationship between newcomers’ energy at work and task performance, as well as the relationship between newcomers’ overconfidence at work and task performance, are both supported.

In harmony with COR theory, we developed a model that explains how supervisors’ positive feedback affects newcomers’ task performance in the workplace. The current study has several important theoretical implications. In particular, we extend the COR theory to newcomer task performance in three ways. First, we enrich COR theory studies by providing evidence of the role of supervisors’ positive feedback in improving newcomers’ task performance during the first 90 days. Specifically, our findings suggest that supervisors’ positive feedback can positively affect newcomers’ task performance. Past research on COR theory (Bandura, 1997) has focused on the basic assumption that initially resource gain will lead to advantages in acquiring resources in the future (Schlenker & Gutek, 1987; Thibaut & Kelley, 1959), not the dual role of the initial gain in the workplace.

Second, the contribution of intrinsic motivation to shaping newcomers’ behaviour and task performance in the workplace should be among the key focus areas for organisations. This works best when newcomers have high levels of intrinsic motivation. Our study argues that, newcomers with high levels of intrinsic motivation can strengthen the association between supervisors’ positive feedback and newcomers’ energy at work in the workplace, such that newcomers with high levels of intrinsic motivation exhibit high levels of energy at work (Figure 1). Therefore, our study yields a new theoretical perspective in which intrinsic motivation moderates the association between supervisors’ positive feedback, newcomers’ energy and, overconfidence at work during their first 90 days in the workplace.

Third, we have demonstrated how information seeking acts as a mediator between newcomers’ energy at work, their overconfidence and their task performance. This is important because it facilitates the direct testing of hypotheses grounded on the philosophies of COR theory, which have thus far been examined exclusively based on qualitative analysis. Overconfidence as a form of cognitive bias may result in failure to access and appropriately use information in the workplace (Kahneman & Tversky, 1996). The result of our study extends the extant understanding of how supervisors’ positive feedback influences newcomers’ overconfidence and task performance during the first 90 days. Finally, by developing theory-based assumptions, we have contributed to the development of the feedback literature from newcomers’ perspective.

Our study also has practical implications. For example, a record-breaking 8.2 million students are graduating from Chinese universities every year (China Ministry of Education, 2019). Therefore, organizations’ desire to attract and retain newcomers will be high. Investigating factors related to newcomers’ task performance during their first 90 days at work is therefore vital. Our results also have practical implications for organisational insiders. For instance, in dynamic business environments supervisors play a crucial role in the betterment of employee performance in the organisation (Nathan, Mohrman, & Milliman, 1991). However, previous researchers have not investigated the role that supervisors’ positive feedback plays in improving newcomers’ performance. Our study shows that positive feedback from supervisors’ plays a vital role in helping newcomers to increase their task performance in the workplace. Moreover, to emphasise how to achieve better performance within a short period of time, newcomers often depend on organisational insiders’ feedback mainly supervisors’ positive feedback as a basis for better task performance in the workplace. Without the effective management of supervisors’ feedback, newcomers may become careless, which may eventually affect their task performance. Therefore, supervisors as agents of the organisation are responsible for feedback issues, situations, and effects in regard to newcomers in the organisation.

Finally, our study highlights the contribution of intrinsic motivation during the first 3 months of employment to newcomers’ task performance. This study can help organisations to consider situations in which supervisors’ positive feedback is influenced by newcomers’ intrinsic motivation. Organisations are thus advised to make use of intrinsic motivation to maximise employees’ performance in the workplace. The results of this study also suggest that, besides the human resources orientation, supervisors’ feedback is constructive for bettering their performance (Bauer & Erdogan, 2011; Klein & Polin, 2012).