Teach Me Fishing or Give Me the Fish: Differential Effects of Receiving Autonomous and Dependent Help on Task Performance

Beijing Tan, Ziyi Li (), Huan Cheng and Zijing Wang
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Beijing Tan: School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Ziyi Li: School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Huan Cheng: School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Zijing Wang: School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Research on workplace helping behavior highlights the need for a more balanced perspective that acknowledges both the positive and negative consequences of receiving help. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the mechanisms through which we receive autonomous and dependent help differentially impact recipient task performance, as well as the boundary condition for such effects. Drawing on social information theory, we examined the mediating role of task- and self-focused processes, and the moderating role of perceived prosocial motivation. Through a two-wave and two-source field survey, we collected matched data from 350 employees and their direct supervisors. We examined our hypothesized model with path analysis using Mplus 7.4. Results indicated that receiving autonomous help improved task performance by leading recipients into task-focused processes, and perceived prosocial motivation further strengthened this positive indirect relationship. In contrast, receiving dependent help reduced task performance by eliciting recipients to engage in self-focused processes, and perceived prosocial motivation further augmented this negative indirect relationship. Overall, we spotlight the differential consequences of receiving autonomous and dependent help on recipients and encourage further inquiry about the role of social information processing in the helping literature.

Keywords: receiving help; task-focused processes; self-focused processes; task performance; perceived prosocial motivation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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