The social context of performance appraisal and appraisal reactions: A meta‐analysis

This study reviews and meta‐analyzes the literature on the social context of performance appraisal. Results indicate that aspects of rater‐ratee relationship quality (i.e., supervisor satisfaction, supervisor support, supervisor trust) are strongly related to ratee reactions to performance appraisals. Rater‐ratee relationship quality is more strongly related to appraisal reactions than appraisal participation or performance ratings. Integrating social exchange theory with procedural justice theory, this article tested whether or not the relationship quality–appraisal reactions relationship was due to relationships between relationship quality and instrumental resources for the ratee (i.e., appraisal participation and rating favorability). When controlling for relationships between these resources and appraisal reactions, a direct path between relationship quality and reactions was significant, supporting a relational model of the exchange between appraisal partners. The relationship quality–appraisal reaction relationship was not moderated by performance rating favorability or appraisal participation. In total, these results highlight the importance of relationship quality to employee reactions to performance appraisal—and the importance of ratee reactions as an important resource in the social exchange between appraisal partners. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The relationship between performance appraisal criterion specificity and statistical evidence of discrimination

Plaintiffs' expert witnesses in EEO cases involving performance appraisals often claim that adverse impact is a result of the type of rating format used. Their theory is that more specific rating criteria will lead to lessened adverse impact. We tested that theory by comparing data from a simple category‐based rating system against data from a standards‐based Work Planning and Review appraisal system with over 248,000 performance appraisals of state employees. Using logistic regression and statistical definitions of prima facie discrimination, we found no support for the hypothesis that adverse impact is materially affected by criterion specificity. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Rater Rating‐Level Bias and Accuracy in Performance Appraisals: The Impact OF Rater Personality,Performance Management Competence,and Rater Accountability

We studied the problem of rating‐level bias and rating accuracy among retail managers of a Fortune 500 retailer. Hypotheses were tested regarding the relationship among managers’ Five‐Factor Model (FFM) personality characteristics, their competence in performance management, and their levels of bias and accuracy in appraisals made in situations differing on levels of rater accountability. Associate store managers (N = 125) rated subordinates, peers and managers under conditions of high and low rater accountability. We found support for the stability of rating‐level bias across rating situations. Raters’ levels of agreeableness and assertiveness were related to mean rating levels across situations, and U‐shaped relationships were found in predicting one measure of rating accuracy such that high and low levels of these two traits were related to greater rating inaccuracy. Conscientiousness scores were significantly (and negatively) correlated with highly accountable mean ratings of subordinates. Performance management competence was related to rating‐level bias in both high‐ and low‐accountability conditions and contributed incremental validity in the prediction of rating level and rating accuracy. Our results indicate that the most lenient raters are more agreeable, less assertive, and less competent in performance management. These raters may also be less accurate. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

What's Wrong With Performance Appraisals? A Critique and A Suggestion

Keith Grint, who is a Fellow in Organizational Behaviour at Templeton College, Oxford, offers a critical evaluation of performance appraisal systems. He argues that the traditional criticism of appraisals – their subjectivity – leads to a fruitless search for ever more objective appraisal criteria that are illusory. the consequence need not be that appraisals should be abandoned but they should be treated much more sceptically and reflexively. In particular, he suggests, there are strong arguments for supplementing traditional downward appraisals of subordinates with upward appraisals of superordinates.     

Self‐Monitoring and Performance Appraisal Satisfaction: An Exploratory Field Study

Members of 12 project teams in five organizations participated in a study that assessed their self‐monitoring characteristics and level of satisfaction with their performance appraisal system. Overall, taking part in self‐ratings and upward appraisals of team leaders was associated with greater levels of appraisal satisfaction than was participating in peer evaluations. Self‐monitoring level was negatively associated with appraisal satisfaction after controlling for level of ratings generated by peers, self, and leader. The paper discusses results, and offers practical implications in light of the social and interpersonal context that surrounds performance evaluation. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

When Feedback Interventions Backfire: Why Higher Performance Feedback May Result in Lower Self‐Perceived Competence and Satisfaction with Performance

In relative performance evaluation systems, appraisers may choose to adopt stricter or laxer evaluation criteria. When laxer (vs. stricter) criteria are used, higher absolute performance evaluations become easier (vs. harder) to achieve. Thus, each appraisee's absolute performance feedback and the mean of the distribution of absolute performance feedback are shifted upward (vs. downward). Yet, relative performance remains constant. When evaluation outcomes depend solely on relative performance, can the adoption of laxer (vs. stricter) criteria—leading to higher absolute performance feedback but no change in relative performance—influence appraisees’ satisfaction with performance? Despite the ubiquity of such systems in organizations, research has not addressed this question. This article points to an important gap between practitioners’ beliefs and research findings. We show that while most appraisers believe that higher absolute performance feedback will automatically result in more satisfaction with performance, the opposite may also happen. Specifically, we find that appraisees with a stronger (vs. weaker) chronic or contextual need to engage in social comparison are more satisfied with lower (vs. higher) absolute performance feedback. Overall, we demonstrate why and how feedback interventions in relative performance evaluation systems may backfire, and suggest a set of practical guidelines for maximizing appraisees’ satisfaction with performance in such systems. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A Meta‐analytic Integration and Test of Psychological Climate Dimensionality

There is no consensus as to what constructs should be considered to be psychological climate. Further, there is no clear taxonomy of psychological climate, although the climate literature suggests that psychological climate perceptions should form higher‐order (i.e., abstract, broad) dimensions. Two meta‐analyses have been conducted to evaluate higher‐order frameworks, but neither study tested the psychometric structure of their hypothesized models. The current meta‐analysis estimated the intercorrelations and criterion‐related validity of 23 psychological climate constructs in order to test the theoretical frameworks proposed by prior meta‐analyses. Confirmatory factor analyses supplemented by a method analogous to item‐to‐scale correlations indicated little empirical support for the a priori frameworks. Results suggest that that psychological climate may be parsimoniously represented by two dimensions. Task climate was most strongly indicated by supervisor goal setting, innovation, and organizational responsiveness. Relational climate was most strongly indicated by work group warmth and social rewards. A path analysis was estimated to test whether job satisfaction partially mediated the association between psychological climate and the outcomes of job performance, turnover intentions, and psychological well‐being. Results provide guidance to researchers and practitioners interested in measuring perceptions of the work environment. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

International performance appraisal practices and approaches of South Korean MNEs in China

International performance appraisal of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in foreign subsidiaries has received inadequate research attention. The current study investigates the international performance appraisal practices, including procedures and methods, criteria and feedback, of South Korean MNEs in China and the extent to which these practices are localized or/and ethnocentric. Results of analyzing the in-depth interviews with local and expatriate managers show South Korean MNEs tend to adopt an ethnocentric approach to managing performance appraisals for expatriates and an integrative approach for host country-nationals by transferring their home appraisal practices to their Chinese subsidiaries. These approaches can be attributed to relative strength effects, i.e. the relative economic strengths and contextual differences between China and South Korea. This study adds to the knowledge base of how MNEs manage performance appraisals in their foreign subsidiaries.     

Implementation of responsible Procurement Management: An Institutional Perspective

The role of the institutional context in the pattern of the implementation of responsible procurement management (RPM) has been object of very limited previous research, although it has been found that it affects the approach to both CSR and supply chain management. The article presents the results of an in‐depth comparative study drawing on 47 interviews with managers of 13 companies in Italy and Germany, which have been previously related to different national institutional settings. The analysis demonstrates that the perception of factors influencing RPM implementation differs between Italian and German companies, and suggests that the institutional context affects not only the overall CSR behavior of the company, but also its institutionalization into a specific function. Results show that the institutional context mainly determines the boundaries within which practitioners are able to operate, whereas the ability to effectively bring about changes in their activity mainly depends upon organizational environment. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

A comparative study of performance appraisals,incentives and rewards practices in domestic and multinational enterprises in the country of Brunei Darussalam

Very little work in the past has focused on the comparative analysis of human resource management (HRM) practices between domestic and multinational enterprises (MNEs). The majority of the work in this area has instead concentrated on comparing the HRM practices utilised by the subsidiaries of MNEs, and has mostly been conducted in the context of developed countries. In this paper, we examine how the HR practices of appraisals, rewards and incentives are offered, explained and monitored in domestic enterprises (DEs) versus MNEs, and how they are similar or different in nature. This paper is based on primary data collected from a cross-section of firms operating in the country of Brunei Darussalam – a context within which no previous work of this nature has been undertaken. An analysis reveals several interesting results: HR practices are more advanced and better structured in MNEs that conduct performance appraisals (PA) more frequently than DEs, and their feedback system is also rapid; incentives and rewards systems in MNEs follow market ethos and principles; the HR directors and employees of MNEs are more receptive to PA than those in DEs whilst, in contrast to DEs, incentives and rewards systems in MNEs follow market ethos and principles. Furthermore, with regard to size, younger firms are more likely to be following market principles in terms of explaining incentives and rewards systems to their employees, whilst older firms claim that working for them carries social and psychological benefits for employees.     

Developing a measurement approach for reputation of non‐profit organizations

• As a result of the increasing adoption of private sector firms' values and concepts, non‐profit organizations (NPOs) are becoming more and more aware of intangible assets' importance for achieving competitive advantages. Even though reputation can be considered an organization's central intangible asset, there is still no appropriate measurement approach for reputation in this context. In this paper, we identify the dimensions of NPO reputation and develop indices to measure these components. We develop a model by means of a qualitative inquiry and a quantitative study using a large‐scale sample from the German general public. We find support for a two‐dimensional measurement approach comprising an affective and cognitive component as well as four antecedent constructs (“quality,” “performance,” “organizational social responsibility (OSR),” and “attractiveness”). The results of a second quantitative study in which we examine NPO reputation's relationship with important outcome variables, such as willingness to donate or work as an honorary member, provide support for the measurement approach's stability as well as criterion validity. Furthermore, the results reveal the affective dimension's importance regarding positively influencing donor behavior.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accuracy and effectiveness in appraisal outcomes: the influence of self‐efficacy,personal factors and organisational variables

Two studies tested relationships of personal factors and organisational context variables with rating accuracy and perceived effectiveness of appraisals, and the role of self‐efficacy as a mediator of the relationships between the two sets of variables. Study 1 was a controlled experiment in which nurse supervisors appraised a video stimulus of a nurse's performance. Study 2 was a field study in which nurses and their supervisors each independently completed an assessment of their annual appraisal review, following the meeting. A ten‐item scale for performance appraiser self‐efficacy (PASE) was developed and tested for measurement properties on a large sample of nurses that included those who participated in either Study 1 or Study 2. The PASE scale was found to have high reliability and reasonable predictive validity. PASE predicted rating accuracy, appraiser and appraisee perceptions of effectiveness, and appraiser‐appraisee agreement on the effectiveness of an actual appraisal, after controlling for the effects of personal factors and organisational context. The main contextual influences were accountability, importance and management concern but the effects varied for self‐efficacy and different appraisal outcomes. The main predictor of self‐efficacy was the amount of training received by appraisers across the multiple sub‐tasks of appraisal.     

Leader‐Member Exchange Relationships and Follower Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Perceiving Goals as Invariable

In the present study, we investigated whether perceiving goals as invariable mediated the link between leader‐member exchange (LMX) relationships and role overload, turnover intention, and work performance. Perceiving goals as invariable refers to the extent to which followers believe that the goals in a performance management system represent the absolute standards that they must meet without exception, even if they think other factors are more important (e.g., situational factors or factors that are not associated with goals). In Study 1, perceiving goals as invariable mediated the relationships between LMX and role overload and turnover intention, such that a high‐quality LMX relationship was negatively associated with perceiving goals as invariable, which in turn was positively related to both role overload and turnover intention. In Study 2, social LMX was negatively associated and economic LMX was positively associated with perceiving goals as invariable, which in turn was negatively related to work performance. Furthermore, perceiving goals as invariable mediated the relationship between social LMX relationships and work performance. Theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research are discussed. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Role of Goals and Feedback in Incentivizing Performance

In this paper, we experimentally investigate how goal setting and feedback policies affect work performance. In particular, we study the effects of (i) absolute performance feedback, (ii) self‐specified goals, and (iii) exogenous goals and relative performance feedback. Our results show that the average performance of the subjects who are provided self‐performance feedback is 11% lower than the ones who obtain no feedback. Moreover, setting a non‐binding personal goal does not affect performance. Finally, assigning an exogenous goal and providing relative performance feedback decreases performance by 8%. We discuss the insights our findings offer for the optimal design of goal setting and feedback mechanisms. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Leader‐Member Exchange,Group‐ and Individual‐Level Procedural Justice and Reactions to Performance Appraisals

Previous research has established that relationships with authority figures and procedural justice perceptions are important in terms of the way in which employees react to organizational procedures that affect them. What is less clear are the reasons why exchange quality with authorities is related to perceptions of process fairness and the role of procedural justice climate in this process. Results indicate that individual‐level perceptions of procedural justice, but not performance ratings, partially mediate the relationship between exchange quality and reactions to performance appraisals, and that procedural justice climate is positively related to perceptions of procedural justice and appraisal reactions. These results support a more relational than instrumental view of justice perceptions in organizational procedures bound by exchange quality with an authority figure. Our study suggests that it is essential for managers to actively monitor and manage employee perceptions of process fairness at the group and individual levels. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Can performance appraisals motivate employees to improve performance? A Mexican study

In this study of Mexican employees, we examined the relationship between performance appraisal characteristics (appraisal source, appraisal purpose and feedback richness) and perceived reactions of employees to the appraisal characteristics (perceived fairness and perceived accuracy of appraisals) and appraisal outcomes (appraisal satisfaction and motivation to improve). We hypothesized that multisource appraisals, appraisals used for administrative and developmental appraisals (multipurpose appraisals) and appraisals that have a high degree of feedback richness would lead to more perceived accuracy and perceived fairness of appraisals. We further hypothesized that higher levels of perceived fairness and accuracy would lead to higher levels of employee appraisal satisfaction and motivation to improve performance in the future. Results based on a survey of Mexican employees provide support for most of the hypothesized relationships. We discuss implications of the findings for research and practice of performance appraisals in the Mexican context.     

When Necessity Becomes a Virtue: The Effect of Product Market Competition on Corporate Social Responsibility

We test whether Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is driven by strategic considerations by empirically studying the link between competition and firms' social performance. We find that firms in more competitive industries have better social ratings. In particular, we show that (i) different market concentration proxies are negatively related to widely used CSR measures; (ii) that an increase in competition due to higher import penetration leads to superior CSR performance; (iii) that firms in more competitive environments have a superior environmental performance, measured by firm pollution levels; and (iv) that more product competition is associated to a larger within‐industry CSR variance. We interpret these results as evidence that CSR is strategically chosen.     

Predicting excellent management performance in an intercultural context: a study of the influence of multicultural personality on transformational leadership and performance

What makes a manager in an intercultural context an excellent performer? This question is the subject of the present study. The study examines the influence of the five dimensions of multicultural personality via transformational leadership on excellent performance in a sample of managers (N = 138) working in an expatriate assignment or in a job dealing with subordinates of different cultural backgrounds. As expected, cultural empathy, open-mindedness and social initiative were found to have a positive effect on transformational leadership. However, no significant effects were found from emotional stability and flexibility on transformational leadership. Furthermore, a more transformational leadership style led to higher performance in an intercultural context, which was measured using management performance appraisals. Since an indirect effect of cultural empathy, open mindedness and social initiative on performance via transformational leadership has been found in this study, it seems that both these dimensions of multicultural personality and transformational leadership are needed for excellent managerial performance in an international environment.     

The effect of context‐specific versus nonspecific subconscious goals on employee performance

We investigated the effect of context‐specific versus general subconscious goals on job performance in a call center. Employees (n = 54) were randomly assigned to a condition where they were primed by (a) a photograph of people making telephone calls in a call center, (b) a woman winning a race, or (c) a control group. Job performance was measured by the (1) number of and (2) monetary value of pledges from donors. None of the participants in the two experimental conditions showed conscious awareness of a prime. Analysis of variance indicated that both a subconscious context‐specific and a subconscious general goal aroused the implicit need for achievement as assessed by a projective measure, the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). Both types of primed goals led to a significant increase in the number of pledges during a four‐day workweek. Consistent with goal‐setting theory, employees in the context‐specific condition raised more money than those in the general achievement (one‐tailed t‐test) and control (two‐tailed t‐test) conditions. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.