Reputational Concerns and Advice-Seeking at Work
52 Pages Posted: 14 Aug 2023 Last revised: 16 May 2024
Date Written: October 20, 2023
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of reputational concerns on seeking advice. While seeking advice can improve performance, it may affect how others perceive the seeker's competence.
In an online experiment with white-collar professionals (N=2,521), we test how individuals navigate this tradeoff and if others' beliefs about competence change it. We manipulate visibility of the decision to seek advice and stereotypes about competence. Results show a sizable and inefficient decline in advice-seeking when visible to a manager. Higher-order beliefs about competence cannot mediate this inefficiency. We find no evidence that managers interpret advice-seeking negatively, documenting a misconception that may hinder knowledge flows in organizations and curb learning.
Keywords: advice-seeking, reputational concerns, stereotypes, higher-order beliefs, knowledge flows, experiment
JEL Classification: J16, J24, D83, D91, M51
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation