Positive and negative feedback: Balanced feedback and proactive customer service behaviour

By J. N. Halm

In the world of customer service, feedback is the breakfast of champions. Managers across industries regularly provide feedback to their employees, hoping to shape behaviour, improve performance, and ultimately enhance the quality of service delivered to customers. However, a critical question that has long puzzled both practitioners and researchers is this: How exactly should managers use positive and negative feedback to encourage employees to go beyond the call of duty in serving customers?

This question is not merely academic. It has significant implications for how businesses approach employee development and customer service excellence. While companies have long utilised feedback as a tool for improving employee performance, it has remained unclear how different forms of manager feedback can either enhance or impair the quality of customer service. The stakes are particularly high when it comes to what researchers call Proactive Customer Service Behaviour, or PCSB for short.

Proactive Customer Service Behaviour refers to the initiative employees take to anticipate customer needs and address them before being asked. It is the kind of service that goes beyond simply responding to customer requests. It involves actively seeking ways to enhance the customer experience, preventing problems before they occur, and creating positive surprises that delight customers. These are the actions that separate adequate service from exceptional service.

A groundbreaking study published in the July 2024 edition of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science sheds new light on how to use positive and negative feedback effectively. The researchers synthesised insights from the feedback literature, goal-setting theory, and proactive service behaviour research to develop what they termed the MG3 model. This framework, which stands for Motivational driver–Goal setting–Goal striving–Goal attainment, helps to unpack the complex relationship between feedback and proactive customer service behaviour.

The researchers conducted three separate studies to examine how positive and negative feedback from managers influence employee behaviour. Together, these studies revealed some fascinating and somewhat counterintuitive findings about the role of feedback in driving proactive service behaviour.

One of the key discoveries was that feedback-based goal setting plays a crucial mediating role in the relationship between feedback and proactive customer service behaviour. In other words, feedback does not directly cause employees to become more proactive in serving customers. Rather, feedback influences employees to set specific goals for themselves, and it is these goals that then drive proactive behaviour. This finding highlights the importance of understanding the intermediate steps in the feedback-to-behaviour chain.

It is important to note, however, that positive and negative feedback work through distinctly different mechanisms. The study found that feedback-based goal setting fully mediates the effect of positive feedback on proactive customer service behaviour. What this means is that when managers provide positive feedback, employees are motivated to set goals for themselves, and these goals then lead to more proactive service behaviour. The pathway is clear and complete.

Interestingly, this was not found for negative feedback. The relationship between negative feedback and PCSB is more complex. While negative feedback can still influence goal setting, the path from negative feedback to proactive behaviour does not operate solely through goal setting in the same straightforward manner as positive feedback does.

The researchers discovered that positive and negative feedback operate through entirely different psychological mechanisms. Positive feedback affects feedback-based goal setting through what the researchers called feedback utility. In essence, when employees receive positive feedback, they perceive it as useful information that helps them understand what they are doing right and how they can continue to improve. This perceived usefulness motivates them to set goals for further improvement.

Negative feedback, on the other hand, influences goal setting through a different pathway: feedback accountability. When employees receive negative feedback, it creates a sense of accountability. They feel a responsibility to address the shortcomings that have been pointed out. This sense of accountability then motivates them to set goals aimed at correcting their performance. The mechanism is fundamentally different from the utility-driven response to positive feedback.

These findings have profound implications for how managers should approach the task of giving feedback to their employees. For one, they challenge the increasingly popular notion that managers should focus exclusively on positive feedback while avoiding negative feedback altogether. Some modern management philosophies advocate for a strengths-based approach where the emphasis is on reinforcing what employees do well rather than dwelling on their mistakes or shortcomings.

Indeed, while positive feedback is truly powerful and necessary, the study suggests that negative feedback also plays an important role that cannot be replicated by positive feedback alone. The two types of feedback activate different psychological processes in employees. Positive feedback enhances perceived utility and encourages employees to build on their strengths. Negative feedback creates accountability and motivates employees to address their weaknesses. Both processes are valuable for developing well-rounded, proactive service professionals.

However, this is not to suggest that managers should deliver negative feedback without care or consideration. The manner in which feedback is delivered matters enormously. Negative feedback, when delivered poorly, can demotivate employees, damage their confidence, and harm the manager-employee relationship. The key is to deliver negative feedback in a way that emphasises accountability and improvement rather than blame and criticism.

For managers seeking to foster proactive customer service behaviour in their teams, the research offers several practical insights. First, managers should not shy away from using both positive and negative feedback. Each type serves a distinct purpose and activates different motivational pathways. Second, when giving positive feedback, managers should emphasise how the feedback can be useful for the employee’s continued growth and development. This enhances the utility value of the feedback and strengthens its impact on goal setting.

Third, when delivering negative feedback, managers should frame it in terms of accountability rather than punishment. The goal is to help employees feel responsible for improving their performance, not to make them feel attacked or defensive. Phrases such as “I’m counting on you to address this” or “I know you’re capable of improving in this area” can help create a sense of positive accountability rather than shame or fear.

Fourth, managers should recognise that feedback alone is not sufficient to drive proactive customer service behaviour. The research clearly shows that feedback works by influencing goal setting. Therefore, managers should not just give feedback and walk away. They should help employees translate that feedback into specific, actionable goals. This might involve asking questions such as “Based on this feedback, what goals would you like to set for yourself?” or “How can we turn this feedback into concrete objectives?”

It is also worth considering the broader implications of this research for organisational culture. Companies that create environments where both positive and negative feedback are given regularly, constructively, and with developmental intent are more likely to cultivate PCSB. In such cultures, feedback is not seen as a judgment but as a tool for growth. Employees learn to expect, seek out, and act upon feedback as part of their professional development.

Unsurprisingly, the quality of the feedback matters as much as the type. Generic feedback such as “good job” or “you need to do better” is unlikely to drive meaningful goal setting or behaviour change. Effective feedback is specific, timely, and actionable. It clearly identifies what was done well or what needs improvement, provides context for why it matters, and suggests pathways for continued development.

The study also underscores the importance of distinguishing between feedback types when the goal is to foster proactive customer service behaviour. Too often, organisations treat feedback as a monolithic concept, failing to recognise that positive and negative feedback operate through different psychological mechanisms and serve different purposes. By understanding these distinctions, managers can become more strategic and effective in how they use feedback as a developmental tool.

From a customer experience perspective, the implications are clear. Proactive customer service behaviour is what transforms ordinary service encounters into memorable experiences. When employees anticipate needs, solve problems before they escalate, and go the extra mile to delight customers, they create the kind of positive experiences that build customer loyalty and generate positive word-of-mouth. Anything that helps managers foster more of this proactive behaviour is valuable for the business.

The aforementioned research represents an important step forward in understanding how to develop proactive service professionals. By illuminating the distinct pathways through which positive and negative feedback influence goal setting and behaviour, the study provides managers with a more nuanced understanding of this critical management practice. The message is clear: do not give employees just positive feedback. While positive feedback is essential and powerful, negative feedback also has an important role to play in fostering accountability and driving improvement.

In conclusion, the art of giving effective feedback is more complex than many managers realise. It requires an understanding not just of what to say, but of how different types of feedback activate different psychological processes in employees. By leveraging both positive and negative feedback strategically, and by helping employees translate that feedback into concrete goals, managers can create the conditions for proactive customer service behaviour to flourish. For organisations committed to delivering exceptional customer experiences, mastering this art is not optional. It is essential.

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