Leadership, Use of Performance Information, and Job Satisfaction: Evidence From Police Services

Abstract

ABSTRACTWhile scholars pay increasingly attention to the usage of performance information and its antecedents, its consequences have been hardly studied. This article examines how the way in which leaders use performance information affects the job satisfaction of followers. We derive our hypotheses from goal-setting theory and self-determination theory and test them by means of a large-scale survey (1,165 respondents) in the police force of a German state (“Landespolizei”). The findings suggest that differences in the type of usage (i.e., controlling and supportive) have opposite effects and affect the job satisfaction of followers more than differences in the extent of usage. This study elucidates the crucial role of leadership in performance management and sheds light on leaders as brokers of performance information.