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the supervisor (b .442, p 5 .00), as well as to the quality of the self-initiated

feedback from colleagues (b .457, p 5 .00).
To establish the second condition for mediation, we regressed, in separate
analyses, perceived career development to the independent variables, and to the
potential mediating variables. The quality of the self-initiated feedback from the
supervisor was related signicantly, and positively, to perceived career development
(b .411, p 5 .00). As shown in Model 2 in Table 4, learning goal orientation
(b .363, p 5 .00) and learning culture (b .355, p 5 .00) were positively related to
perceived career development.
To determine whether the third condition for mediation was met, we entered all
variables simultaneously in a multiple regression analysis (with age, gender and years
in present function as control variables). This analysis yielded a signicant,
regression model with the following results: R2 .491, F(13, 94) 6.97, p 5 .00.
As shown in Model 4 in Table 4, the eect of learning goal orientation was only
minimally reduced (.371.306), but was still signicant, indicating that there is no
mediating eect. However, the eect of perceived learning culture on perceived
career development was reduced from the inclusion of frequency of feedback
seeking, quality of the self-initiated feedback from the supervisor and colleagues in
the regression equation (age, gender and years in present function as control
variables); the b for this path decreased from .352 (p 5 .00) to .155 (p .11),
suggesting a mediating eect.
Discussion
Remarkably, the relationship between feedback seeking, which takes place
informally during daily work, and career development in the initial career stage
seems empirically unexplored. In this study we therefore explored this relationship,
and we shed new light on the nature of informal feedback seeking by focusing on
both the frequency of feedback seeking and the quality of the self-initiated feedback.
The results show that it is primarily the quality of the self-initiated feedback from the
supervisor that is related to career development. This result underlines the
importance of high quality feedback, and suggests a signicant role of supervisors.
This is in line with research of Tannenbaum (1997), which indicated a key role for
supervisors in enhancing (or hindering) continuous learning, and research of
Callister, Kramer and Turban (1999) in which they state that supervisors are a
critical element in feedback.
In addition, to gain insight how one might be able to support informal feedback
seeking of employees, we examined the joint inuence of individual dierences in
goal orientation, and the learning culture, as potential antecedents of informal
feedback seeking. Prior research on the antecedents of feedback seeking did not
elucidate the joint inuence of individual and organizational characteristics on
feedback seeking. Our ndings reveal that employees with a dominant performanceprove orientation seek feedback more frequently. This nding might be explained by
the nature of the expert eld of accounting, nance and control, in which incentive
compensation determined by performance (such as bonuses or stock options) is
common and, gaining favourable appraisals, seems important. A study by BarnerRasmussen (2003) found a signicant positive relationship between bonuses and the
tendency to seek feedback, and called for more research on the impact of economic
incentives on feedback seeking behaviour.

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Furthermore, our results show that learning culture is positively associated to the
frequency of feedback seeking, as well as to the quality of the self-initiated feedback
from the supervisor and from the colleagues. This highlights the signicance of a
learning culture to support informal feedback seeking. Our results also show that
informal feedback seeking mediates the relation between the perceived learning
culture and perceived career development. Interestingly, when examining the joint
inuence of goal orientations and perceived learning culture, we do not nd a
relation between learning goal orientation and informal feedback seeking. A possible
explanation might be that the learning culture inuences the individuals learning
goal orientation. Further research is needed on this issue. Last, we found that
learning goal orientation directly relates to employees perception of career
development, regardless of informal feedback seeking.
Practical implications
With regard to the practical implications of the research results, human resource
development (HRD) practitioners may use the current study results to guide the
career development of employees. The results suggest that organizations interested in
the continued development of their employees would do well to focus on feedback
seeking behaviour which takes place informally during daily work. Our ndings
suggest that, in particular, the quality of the self-initiated feedback from supervisors
is important for career development of employees in their initial career stage. In this
respect, from a HRD perspective, organizations could invest in the ability of
supervisors and employees to provide high quality feedback, which can leverage
professional development. Supervisors should be aware of the value of their
feedback and the cues they might give, for example, by training them to give
constructive feedback and to stimulate employees to go for high quality feedback
rather than for high quantity.
While many organizations invest in talent development programmes to develop
their talented employees (McDonnell et al. 2010), our ndings suggest that, instead
of concentrating only on the high potentials, it would be worthwhile to pay attention
to casual, daily interactions that take place in the work environment. Investing in
creating a work environment that promotes a learning attitude over a simple
performance oriented goal orientation, and in which informal feedback seeking is
encouraged, may be a fruitful strategy for organizations.
Limitations and avenues for future research
In this study we used self-report data to assess perceptions, because we were
particularly interested in how employees perceive processes in the work environment.
In this respect, self-report data are adequate instruments. The same counts for the
quality of feedback, which can only be valued by the person who generates the
feedback. The counterpart of relying on self-report measures is the problem of
common method bias. Future research could take a multi-method approach to
obtain data from dierent sources, such as employees, supervisors or company
records. Furthermore, the research design could be expanded with more objective
measures of career development and performance, such as income or bonuses. In
particular, it would be interesting to investigate both the subjective and the objective
aspect of career development. Economic incentives or income increase may lead to