Feedback giving plays an important role in the workplace. However, high-quality feedback could be rare, and people may be reluctant to express their negative feedback to coworkers. We argue that considering the feedback process from the feedback providers’ perspective can help clarify this phenomenon. In this research, we propose a framework to investigate how the social relationship between feedback seekers and feedback providers influences feedback giving. We expect that feedback providers’ relative status positively influences their feedback-giving behavior, and tie strength negatively moderates this relationship. Further, we propose that the joint effect of relative status and tie strength is mediated by psychological safety. Two experimental studies provide evidence to support our hypotheses.
