The role of regulatory focus on a peer-feedback process: a longitudinal study with MBA students

We investigated the role of regulatory focus on individuals’ reactions to feedback on leadership skills in the context of small learning teams. A total of 285 students participated in a peer-feedback assessment process twice during their MBA program. Results show that promotion-focused individuals evaluate themselves at higher levels and receive higher peer ratings of team leadership than prevention-focused individuals. Interestingly, we also found that regulatory focus has a moderating effect on satisfaction with the feedback process and on leadership improvement. Promotion-focused individuals were equally satisfied with positive and negative feedback but improved their leadership ratings after receiving positive feedback (high peer ratings). In contrast, prevention-focused individuals showed satisfaction only with positive feedback and showed no improvement in their leadership skills regardless of the type of feedback. We include implications of results for research on regulatory focus and feedback as well as their practical implications for leadership development.