Research on the Impact Mechanisms of Being a "Backup" on Employee Proactive Responsibility-Taking and Time Theft

Abstract:
The term "backup" refers to employees who are ultimately assigned a specific task or role by an organization but were not the initial first choice for that position. While this phenomenon has gradually gained scholarly attention, existing research has largely overlooked how being designated as a backup affects the employees' own attitudes and behaviors within the context of task allocation. Drawing upon Social Information Processing Theory and the Associative-Propositional Evaluation (APE) model, this study utilizes a combination of scenario-based experiments and a three-stage longitudinal survey to explore the effects and boundary conditions of backup status on employee behavior. The results indicate that when supervisors provide high levels of developmental feedback, being a backup stimulates harmonious passion, which in turn triggers proactive responsibility-taking behavior. Conversely, when supervisor developmental feedback is low, being a backup leads to a tendency toward work procrastination, subsequently resulting in time theft. These findings provide a theoretical reference and practical insights for a more objective and dialectical understanding of the "backup" role in organizational settings.

1 Introduction

During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Wang Xinyu substituted for Zheng Qinwen in the mixed doubles event, partnering with Zhang Zhizhen, who had nearly withdrawn and returned home. This successful outcome was inseparable from the team's strategic personnel planning. Even though Wang Xinyu was not the initial choice for this match, her participation was the key to the competition's successful completion. In organizational contexts, scholars refer to such experiences as "being a backup," and employees with these experiences are termed "backup employees"—those who are ultimately assigned by the organization to undertake a specific task or role, but were not the primary choice for that position \cite{Nurmohamed & Schwingel-Sauer, 2024}. Being a backup carries both the organization's ultimate trust and commitment, as well as the initial label of being a "secondary choice." This dual nature may have profound effects on an employee's psychological state, work motivation, and subsequent behavior.

Nurmohamed, Schwingel, and Sauer (2024) define "backups" as individuals who are ultimately assigned to complete a task despite not being the initial choice. This definition encompasses two key aspects. Consequently, employees who were previously shortlisted but ultimately not selected for a position fall outside the scope of this study. The underlying mechanisms of backup assignments not only enhance the work efficacy and career development of the selected individuals but also assist organizations in effectively managing talent pools, stimulating the potential of all members, and improving team resilience and overall performance \cite{Nurmohamed, Schwingel, & Sauer, 2024}.

Although organizations frequently rely on backups as a vital resource for addressing uncertainty and filling talent gaps, current research lacks a systematic exploration of these individuals who, despite not being the first choice, ultimately assume significant responsibilities. A few studies have examined the impact of entering an organization as a "runner-up" during the recruitment process on the socialization process \cite{Nurmohamed, Schwingel, & Sauer, 2024}, yet little attention has been paid to how employees react when they discover they are the backup in a task allocation context. A core function of management is task assignment; however, a primary choice may be unable to undertake a task due to time conflicts or emergencies. In such cases, managers must find a backup to ensure the task proceeds smoothly. This type of backup assignment occurring within specific task designations is likely to influence the employee's work attitudes and behaviors after taking over the task \cite{Liao et al., 2023}, potentially diffusing throughout the team and impacting overall organizational effectiveness.

Social Information Processing Theory (SIPT) posits that individuals determine their attitudes and behaviors by processing and interpreting specific social information \cite{Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978}. In this study, being a backup conveys information regarding the leader's role positioning for the employee and their evaluation of the employee's potential \cite{Nurmohamed & Schwingel-Sauer, 2024}. This status sends two distinct signals: first, that the organization trusts the employee's ability and responsibility to handle emergencies; and second, that the organization has not fully recognized the employee, viewing them merely as a temporary substitute \cite{Liao et al., 2023}. Associative-Propositional Evaluation (APE) theory provides an ideal framework for explaining this process, suggesting that the formation of positive or negative attitudes is based on associative and propositional evaluation processes \cite{Gawronski & Bodenhausen, 2006}.

The theoretical model is shown in [FIGURE:1]. This study offers several theoretical contributions: first, it enriches research on backups by focusing on the task allocation context; second, it moves beyond the traditional social comparison perspective by integrating SIPT and APE theory; third, it validates the moderating role of supervisory developmental feedback in the relationship between backup status and work behavior.

2 Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses

2.1 Theoretical Basis

According to Social Information Processing theory, individuals process various cues provided by their work environment to determine their subsequent attitudes and behaviors \cite{Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978}. The APE model further deepens the explanatory power of how individuals process social information from a micro-perspective through a dual evaluation mechanism. Being designated as a "backup" candidate constitutes information transmitted by the organization regarding an employee's role positioning and competency evaluation. Employees perceive, interpret, and assign meaning to this information, which subsequently influences their attitudes and behaviors.

2.2 Backup Status and Proactive Responsibility-Taking: The Mediating Role of Harmonious Passion

Under the dualistic model of passion, harmonious passion refers to an internal state where employees deeply love their work and are willing to devote significant time and energy to it. According to the APE model, the unexpected nature of "backup" employees being assigned a task may trigger a strong desire to seize the opportunity and prove their value. This perception of the task being unexpected and hard-won may activate positive associative evaluations and form a positive propositional evaluation \cite{Gawronski & Bodenhausen, 2006}.

Positively interpreting the information conveyed by being a backup can stimulate harmonious passion. Employees may interpret being a backup as a sign that the organization trusts them to have sufficient capability to handle emergencies. Recognizing that they play a relatively important role in the organization \cite{Liao et al., 2022} prompts them to attach deeper importance to the work. Furthermore, a positive interpretation may encourage employees to view taking over a task as an opportunity to demonstrate that they are equally capable—or even capable of exceeding expectations \cite{Nurmohamed & Schwingel-Sauer, 2024}.

Hypothesis 1: Backup status will enhance employees' harmonious passion, which in turn increases proactive responsibility-taking behavior.

2.3 Backup Status and Time Theft: The Mediating Role of Work Procrastination

Work procrastination tendency refers to an individual's inclination to intentionally delay work-related tasks when faced with professional responsibilities \cite{Steel, 2016}. If employees interpret the information conveyed by being designated as a "backup" negatively, it may lead to a tendency toward work procrastination and further result in time theft behavior.

Being a "backup" implies that an individual is not the organization's first choice, which may activate negative associative evaluations. Employees may perceive being selected as a backup as a compromise—viewing themselves merely as a temporary substitute. This forms a negative propositional evaluation. The negative processing of backup information may cause employees to focus excessively on the fact that they did not receive priority recognition, leading to difficulties in initiating work \cite{Michailidis, 2025}. To alleviate this discomfort, employees may engage in time theft—the practice of using work hours for non-work-related activities \cite{Henle, 2025}.

Hypothesis 2: Backup status increases employees' work procrastination tendency, which in turn increases time theft behavior.

2.4 The Moderating Role of Supervisory Developmental Feedback

According to the APE model, other relevant propositions can influence the consistency between initial associative evaluations and subsequent propositional evaluations \cite{Gawronski & Bodenhausen, 2011}. Supervisory developmental feedback refers to the detailed information leaders provide to employees regarding their job performance to facilitate growth and improvement \cite{Zhou, 2003}.

When the level of supervisory developmental feedback is high, it indicates that the leader provides the backup employee with rich, constructive information conducive to learning and growth \cite{Wang et al., 2024}. This strengthens the consistency between initial positive associative evaluations and positive propositional evaluations. Conversely, when supervisory developmental feedback is low, employees find it difficult to perceive the leader's expectations or valuation of their task performance \cite{Zhou, 2003}, which strengthens the consistency between initial negative associations and negative propositional evaluations.

Hypothesis 3: Supervisory developmental feedback moderates the relationship between backup status and harmonious passion (H3a) and work procrastination (H3b).

3 Study 1: Scenario-based Experiment

3.1 Design and Participants

This study employed a 2 (Status: Preferred vs. Backup) × 2 (Supervisor Developmental Feedback: High vs. Low) between-subjects experimental design. 232 participants were recruited through the Credamo platform. The educational background primarily comprised individuals with a bachelor's degree (73.71%).

3.2 Procedure and Materials

Participants were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions. They read a situational description involving a critical overseas market analysis project.
- Backup condition: Participants were informed they were selected only because the first choice (Zhao Qiang) was unable to take on the project.
- Preferred condition: Participants were informed they were the supervisor's first choice due to their successful experience.
- Feedback condition: Participants read descriptions of supervisors providing either high levels of specific guidance or minimal information.

3.3 Results

Independent samples $t$-tests confirmed the manipulation effectiveness. Participants in the backup group reported significantly higher levels of perceived backup status ($M = 4.35, SD = 0.64$) than those in the preferred group ($M = 1.68, SD = 0.64$), $t(230) = 31.74, p < 0.001$.

ANOVA results indicated that the interaction term between backup status and supervisor developmental feedback significantly impacted harmonious passion. When supervisor developmental feedback was high, the harmonious passion of the backup group was significantly higher. Similarly, the interaction significantly influenced work procrastination tendencies. When feedback was low, the work procrastination tendency of the backup group ($M = 3.39$) was significantly higher than that of the preferred group ($M = 2.08$).

4 Study 2: Three-Stage Longitudinal Survey

4.1 Sample and Procedure

Data were collected from employees across three stages (T1, T2, T3) with two-week intervals.
- T1: Perceived backup status, supervisor developmental feedback, and demographics.
- T2: Harmonious passion, obsessive passion, and procrastination tendencies.
- T3: Proactive responsibility-taking and time theft.
The final sample consisted of 332 valid questionnaires.

4.2 Results

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that the seven-factor model fit the data well ($\chi^2/df = 2.42$, $CFI = 0.92$, $TLI = 0.92$, $RMSEA = 0.07$). Path analysis using Mplus indicated:
- Backup status had a significant positive effect on harmonious passion ($\beta = 0.30, p < 0.001$).
- Harmonious passion had a significant positive effect on proactive responsibility-taking ($\beta = 0.19, p < 0.001$).
- Backup status significantly influenced work procrastination ($\beta = 0.12, p < 0.001$), which in turn increased time theft ($\beta = 0.37, p < 0.001$).

The moderated mediation results showed that the indirect effect of backup status on proactive responsibility-taking through harmonious passion was stronger under high supervisor developmental feedback ($\beta = 0.08$, 95% CI $[0.028, 0.133]$). The indirect effect on time theft through work procrastination was significant only under low supervisor developmental feedback ($\beta = 0.09$, 95% CI $[0.023, 0.157]$).

5 Discussion

This study clarifies the transmission mechanisms and boundary conditions through which being a backup influences employee behavior. On one hand, backup status enhances harmonious passion, promoting proactive responsibility-taking and inhibiting time theft. On the other hand, it can lead to work procrastination, triggering time theft.

5.1 Theoretical Implications

First, this study enriches the literature on "backups" within the context of task assignment, moving beyond the focus on "star" or "disadvantaged" employees. Second, by integrating SIP theory and the APE model, it reveals how employees interpret the ambiguous information conveyed by backup status. Third, it identifies supervisor developmental feedback as a crucial boundary condition that determines whether the backup status leads to constructive or counterproductive outcomes.

5.2 Practical Implications

Leaders should recognize the double-edged sword effect of backup status. To maximize positive outcomes, leaders should provide high-quality developmental feedback, offering specific guidance and learning opportunities. This helps backup employees assign positive meaning to their role, stimulating harmonious passion and proactive responsibility-taking. Additionally, establishing clear workflows and responsibility-tracking mechanisms can help mitigate the procrastination tendencies that may arise when employees feel undervalued.