Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

1-2020

Abstract

Resource seeking, or the act of asking others for things that can help one attain one’s goals, is an important behavior within organizations due to the increasingly dynamic nature of work that demands collaboration and coordination among employees. Over the past two decades, there has been growing research in the organizational sciences on four types of resource seeking behaviors: feedback-, information-, advice-, and help-seeking. However, research on these four behaviors has existed in separate silos. We argue that there is value in recognizing that these behaviors reflect a common higher order construct (resource seeking), and in integrating the findings across the four literatures as a basis for understanding what we do and do not know about the predictors and outcomes of resource seeking at work. More specifically, we use conservation of resources (COR) theory as a framework to guide our integration across the four literatures and to both deepen and extend current understandings of why and when employees engage in resource seeking as well as how resource seeking behaviors may lead to both individual- and collective-level outcomes. We conclude with a discussion of future research needs and how COR theory can provide a fruitful foundation for future resource seeking research.

Keywords

Feedback, Organizational Behavior, Citizenship Behavior

Discipline

Organizational Behavior and Theory

Research Areas

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources

Publication

Academy of Management Annals

Volume

14

Issue

1

First Page

122

Last Page

159

ISSN

1941-6520

Identifier

10.5465/annals.2018.0034

Publisher

Academy of Management

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2018.0034

Download

Share

COinS