Examining the Role of Employee Participation, Supervisor Trust, and Appraisal Reactions for a Pay-for-Performance Appraisal System

Abstract

Despite their prominence and popularity, pay-for-performance systems are often an area of controversy within an agency. Getting employees more engaged in the pay-for-performance appraisal system’s development, implementation, and administration has been suggested as a possible method to improve the effectiveness of these systems. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of employee participation and supervisor trust in employee reactions toward a pay-for-performance appraisal system. Guided by Social Cognitive Theory, a series of hypotheses are proposed and tested. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and their implications for management.