CENTRAL COMPLAINT RECIPIENTS AS CHANGE AGENTS: A THEORY OF COMPLAINING, LEARNING, AND PROACTIVE WORK BEHAVIOR

Complaining appears to have few redeeming qualities. It is something people frequently do and yet hate to hear. Despite the prevalence of complaining in organizations, little is known about its organizational consequences—particularly for those on the receiving end of complaints. Current research suggests that being complained to is a significant burden. However, emerging evidence hints that being on the receiving end of complaints may have overlooked benefits. In this dissertation, I take the complaint recipient’s perspective and draw on social learning theory to suggest that “complaint hubs,” or employees on the frequent receiving end of work-related complaints, benefit from exclusive access to information about problems that may arise in their work. This facilitates problem-oriented learning, or the acquisition of knowledge about how to identify, anticipate, and resolve work-related issues. In turn, problem-oriented learning translates “complaints received” into proactive behaviors aimed at improving one’s job (task crafting) and organization (voice). However, the utility of complaining for employee learning and proactive behavior hinges on how close employees are with the members of their communication network, which determines the richness of the complaints an employee receives and their ability to infer their work-related implications. I test my theory in a series of validation studies, an experiment, and two network field studies—including a three-wave study with a broadcasting organization and a second study with a large healthcare organization. Results demonstrate that there are important, overlooked benefits associated with being a “complaint hub,” challenging the consensus that complaining has singularly harmful effects on employee behavior.