Supervisor-rated Performance Research Articles

Are you really doing good things in your boss's eyes? Interactive effects of employee innovative work behavior and leader–member exchange on supervisory performance ratings

Organizations increasingly depend on employee efforts to innovate. However, the quality of relationships between leaders and employees may affect the recognition that employees receive for their innovative work behaviors. Drawing from a social cognition perspective, we tested a model in which leader–member exchange (LMX) moderates the impact of employee innovative work behavior on supervisory ratings of employee performance. Results from two multisource studies combining self, colleague, and supervisor ratings consistently showed that employees receive more favorable performance ratings by engaging in innovative work behavior when they have high‐quality LMX relationships. Moreover, we found that this interactive relationship was mediated by leader perceptions of innovative employee efforts, providing support for a moderated mediation model. Implications for the literatures on performance appraisal, LMX, and innovation are discussed.

Understanding typologies of feedback environment perceptions: A latent profile investigation

Research on supervisor feedback environment perceptions—contextual aspects of day-to-day feedback relationships—has established important relations between such perceptions and employee motivation, well-being, and performance. However, this line of work has two key limitations. First, all work has adopted a variable-centered approach, assessing how a composite score of seven feedback environment facets (e.g., feedback quality, feedback delivery, favorable feedback, feedback credibility, unfavorable feedback, source availability, promotion of feedback seeking) relates to outcomes. This assumes that employees have similar perceptions across all facets, ignoring the possibility that different profiles, or constellations, of supervisor feedback environment perceptions may exist. Second, antecedents of the feedback environment have been understudied, leaving many questions about how supervisor feedback environment perceptions develop. We seek to address these limitations by adopting a person-centered research approach in order to (a) identify profiles of feedback environment perceptions, (b) link these profiles to antecedents grounded in social exchange theory (SET), and (c) test the relations of these profiles with important feedback environment criteria. Results across two studies revealed three distinct profiles of feedback environment perceptions, each of which were differentiated by antecedents tied to SET, and uniquely related to outcomes tied to employee well-being, motivation, and supervisor-rated performance. These results expand upon previous work by exploring how perceptions of the supervisor feedback environment develop and operate more fully.

Person–environment fit and its effects on employees’ emotions and self-rated/supervisor-rated performances

PurposeSeeking to build a deeper understanding of a higher level of hospitality in terms of employee task performance, this study aimed to explore different person–environment (P–E) fit types and the corresponding effects on hotel employees’ emotions and task performance, evaluated by both the employees themselves and their supervisors.Design/methodology/approachFrequency analysis, reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis and structural equation modeling method.FindingsThe results indicated that person–organization fit was associated with emotions toward the organization, the team and the job. However, this study did not provide empirical support for hypotheses that person-team fit affected emotions. Person–job fit was also associated with positive emotions toward the organization and the job, unlike with the team. Organization emotion had positive effects on both task performances, whereas no effect was reported between team emotion and task performances.Practical implicationsThe study suggests that hotels’ human resource administrators may want to focus on developing and strengthening P–E fit and emotional responses.Originality/valueThis research illustrates the impact of three types of P–E fit on self-rated and supervisor-rated performance and examines the significant mediating role of three types of emotion.

Who can have it all and how?

PurposeThis study aims to examine senior executives’ work–life (WL) experiences, perceptions and consequences in light of leader gender.Design/methodology/approachMulti-wave data were collected from 133 executives at a large, global technology company. Time 1 assessed need for and usage of flexibility options (flextime, telework and compressed work week), organizational support and work-to-home interference (WHI); Time 2 yielded supervisor-rated performance; and Time 3 assessed commitment.FindingsLeader gender interacted with childcare and eldercare in predicting organizational support: female leaders perceived less WHI for both types of care demands. Leader gender interacted with eldercare (but not childcare) in predicting the need for flexibility: female leaders reported necessitating less flexibility for eldercare, despite males’ higher perceived interference. Leaders of both genders indicated lower interference when they perceived organizational support, and higher organizational commitment when interference was low and when their employer satisfied their flexibility needs. Hearteningly, performance reviews were not more negative for employees with flexibility needs or using flexibility policies.Practical implicationsThis research yields important implications, including empirical justification for WL management initiatives being extended to include men as well as women, and expanded for both genders. This is particularly true for leaders, as high-level employees report especially intense workloads and unclear boundaries between domains.Originality/valueAs gender, work and family roles continue to evolve, research must keep pace with evaluating those trajectories in light of research and practice. This study contributes to filling the gap at that intersection, with a focus on senior executives, a unique but oft-neglected group.

Evaluating the complementary roles of an SJT and academic assessment for entry into clinical practice

Although there is extensive evidence confirming the predictive validity of situational judgement tests (SJTs) in medical education, there remains a shortage of evidence for their predictive validity for performance of postgraduate trainees in their first role in clinical practice. Moreover, to date few researchers have empirically examined the complementary roles of academic and non-academic selection methods in predicting in-role performance. This is an important area of enquiry as despite it being common practice to use both types of methods within a selection system, there is currently no evidence that this approach translates into increased predictive validity of the selection system as a whole, over that achieved by the use of a single selection method. In this preliminary study, the majority of the range of scores achieved by successful applicants to the UK Foundation Programme provided a unique opportunity to address both of these areas of enquiry. Sampling targeted high (>80th percentile) and low (<20th percentile) scorers on the SJT. Supervisors rated 391 trainees’ in-role performance, and incidence of remedial action was collected. SJT and academic performance scores correlated with supervisor ratings (r = .31 and .28, respectively). The relationship was stronger between the SJT and in-role performance for the low scoring group (r = .33, high scoring group r = .11), and between academic performance and in-role performance for the high scoring group (r = .29, low scoring group r = .11). Trainees with low SJT scores were almost five times more likely to receive remedial action. Results indicate that an SJT for entry into trainee physicians’ first role in clinical practice has good predictive validity of supervisor-rated performance and incidence of remedial action. In addition, an SJT and a measure of academic performance appeared to be complementary to each other. These initial findings suggest that SJTs may be more predictive at the lower end of a scoring distribution, and academic attainment more predictive at the higher end.

The moderating effect of supervisor and coworker support for error management on service recovery performance and helping behaviors

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to amend and extend the emerging research that has utilized an employee-focused approach to examining the service recovery process. In doing so, the authors examine the influences of supervisor and coworker support for error management on two measures of employee service performance: service recovery performance and helping behaviors during service failure and recoveries. Specifically, this study examines the linear and non-linear interaction effects of supervisor and coworker support for error management on the outcome variables.Design/methodology/approachTo examine the proposed relationships, the authors conducted a field study that utilized survey data from a sample of 243 restaurant employees and their immediate supervisors. Employee ratings of supervisor and coworker support for error management were matched with the data gathered for the two dependent variables (i.e. supervisory ratings of service recovery performance and helping behaviors). Structural equation modeling was used to examine the linear interaction effects on the outcome variables. To examine the non-linear interaction effects on the outcome variables the authors utilized polynomial regression and response surface modeling.FindingsThe results showed that the interaction effects of supervisor and coworker support for error management was significantly positively related to both service recovery performance and helping behaviors. In addition, an alternative analysis of the shape of the interaction effects using polynomial regression and response surface modeling showed that the moderating effects may be better conceptualized as non-linear.Originality/valueThese findings offer new insights about the roles and impact of various forms of support in the service recovery process. First, the current study focuses specifically on supervisor and coworker support for error management and the impact on employees’ service recovery performance and helping behaviors. Second, this research investigates the interaction effects of these two forms of support on service recovery performance and helping behaviors. Third, along with linear interaction effects, the current work examines non-linear interaction effects. These relationships examined in this study have not been tested before. Thus, the findings of this research make a unique contribution to research in service management. The findings of this study provide more prescriptive insights about the means to prevent and respond effectively to service errors.

Agreement on service performance ratings between frontline employees and their supervisor

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine whether agreement between frontline employee self-ratings and supervisory ratings of service performance functions as an indicator of healthy supervisor-subordination relationships above and beyond what might be indicated simply by either supervisory ratings or self-ratings.Design/methodology/approachResearch hypotheses were tested using a sample of 220 matched pairs of frontline service workers and their immediate supervisors from nine full service hotels in the USA.FindingsThe results show that higher levels of agreement in service performance ratings between employees and supervisors is associated with higher levels of leader-member exchange (LMX) and organizational commitment.Practical implicationsSenior managers can refer to the level of performance rating agreement between customer service employees and their supervisors in assessing supervisors’ competency to manage their work relationship with their subordinates.Originality/valueThis study examined rating agreement in a service performance context and found rating agreement between subordinates and their supervisor may have a unique effect on service worker effectiveness, producing a unique incremental effect on LMX and organizational commitment. This is important given that few attempts have been made to examine service performance from both subordinates’ and supervisors’ perspectives and the implication that rating agreement may have for improving employee service performance.

Differential Effects of Task Performance, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, and Job Complexity on Voluntary Turnover

The purpose of this study was to investigate the performance–turnover relationship by considering the effects of task performance and OCBs simultaneously while also examining the moderating effect job complexity has on the relationship between voluntary turnover and each type of performance. Data were obtained as part of a larger study to validate an employment test, in which actual turnover data and supervisory ratings of job performance were collected for employees in two hospitals (n = 782). Task performance exhibited a curvilinear relationship with turnover, while OCB exhibited a negative linear relationship with turnover. Job complexity moderated both of these relationships. For task performance, turnover in high-complexity jobs was greater for low performers but lower for high performers relative to that of employees in low-complexity jobs. For OCB, the negative relationship with turnover was more pronounced in high-complexity jobs. Both low- and high-task performers are more likely to turnover, while employees exhibiting high OCBs are less likely to turnover. These results imply that retention strategies are critical for top performers, but especially in high-complexity jobs. Organizations may be able to discourage voluntary turnover by creating conditions that stimulate OCB, particularly in highly complex jobs. Most prior performance–turnover relationship research used unidimensional measures of performance, whereas this study included two dimensions of performance and examined this relationship while controlling for one-performance dimension when predicting the other. Furthermore, this study is one of the first studies to suggest that job complexity moderates the performance–turnover relationship.

Cultural humility and low ethnocentrism as facilitators of expatriate performance

Purpose – For decades, expatriate scholars have understood that the individual factors of cultural humility and ethnocentrism and the contextual factors of feedback and support affect expatriates’ outcomes. The study, rooted in the observation that great advice and support are often ignored by expatriates, seeks to uncover why. Based in the humility literature, the authors test whether individual differences interact with support to affect expatriate performance. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The authors surveyed a matched sample of 62 expatriates and their supervisors from one multinational organization. Findings – The study found that expatriates higher in cultural humility benefit more from the support and feedback offered in the host national work environment which, in turn, facilitates better supervisor ratings of performance. The authors also found that expatriates’ ethnocentrism has a direct negative influence on their ratings of performance. Research limitations/implications – The findings in the study are focussed and robust, but tested within a single organization. That said, the authors believe the results have implications for expatriate selection and for ways to manage the host national environment to improve expatriate performance. Originality/value – The study joins the research conversation on how expatriates’ individual differences interact with the environments in which they are placed to affect their success. This study also underscores the importance of humility in the global professional context.

The Performance Appraisal Milieu: A Multilevel Analysis of Context Effects in Performance Ratings

The purpose of this study was to take an inductive approach in examining the extent to which organizational contexts represent significant sources of variance in supervisor performance ratings, and to explore various factors that may explain contextual rating variability. Using archival field performance rating data from a large state law enforcement organization, we used a multilevel modeling approach to partition the variance in ratings due to ratees, raters, as well as rating contexts. Results suggest that much of what may often be interpreted as idiosyncratic rater variance, may actually reflect systematic rating variability across contexts. In addition, performance-related and non-performance factors including contextual rating tendencies accounted for significant rating variability. Supervisor ratings represent the most common approach for measuring job performance, and understanding the nature and sources of rating variability is important for research and practice. Given the many uses of performance rating data, our findings suggest that continuing to identify contextual sources of variability is particularly important for addressing criterion problems, and improving ratings as a form of performance measurement. Numerous performance appraisal models suggest the importance of context; however, previous research had not partitioned the variance in supervisor ratings due to omnibus context effects in organizational settings. The use of a multilevel modeling approach allowed the examination of contextual influences, while controlling for ratee and rater characteristics.

Trust and Distrust Network Accuracy and Career Advancement in an Organization

Although there is some evidence individuals’ knowledge of the organization’s social network can be a valuable resource, providing advantages, it is unclear whether those advantages also relate to employee performance outcomes, such as career advancement. Thus, the question this study seeks to answer is “Does accuracy of the social network provide a unique resource unto itself, positively affecting one’s promotion in the organization?” This question is answered from a social exchange and social resources view using cognitive social structure-style data collected in the call center of a large U.S. restaurant equipment manufacturing firm. Evidence suggests that social network accuracy of the work-related trust and distrust networks increased the chances for promotion compared with the less accurate. In addition, trust and distrust network accuracy moderated supervisor-rated performance effects on promotion, such that accuracy is generally more beneficial for low compared with high performance individuals, increasing their chances of promotion. Contributions to research in career advancement, social networks, network cognition, and positive and negative tie perception are discussed.

Why are Employees Working Late? The Impact of Work Overtime on Supervisor Performance Ratings

Integrating implicit theory with social identity theory, this paper examines that employee work overtime will be positively related to employee performance ratings via supervisors’ perceived employee conscientiousness. A scenario study including 300 full- time employees in four conditions was conducted to examine the hypotheses. Our paper receives several important findings. First, employees who work overtime are perceived more conscientious by supervisors than employees who leave their offices on regular hours. Second, employees’ work overtime is positively related to their supervisors’ performance ratings on the employees via its influence on the supervisors’ perceived employee conscientiousness. Finally, supervisors’ chronotype is found to moderate the indirect effect of employee work overtime on employee performance ratings in such a way that supervisors who prefer a late sleep/wake pattern are more likely to provide better performance ratings to the work overtime employees than the supervisors who prefer an early sleep/wake pattern. Theoretical contributions, implications, limitations and future directions of the paper are further discussed.

Overall Well-Being and Supervisor Ratings of Employee Performance, Accountability, Customer Service, Innovation, Prosocial Behavior, and Self-Development

The aim of this study was to study the effects of overall well-being and well-being change on six supervisor-rated indicators of employee performance valued by organizations: overall performance, accountability, customer service, innovation, prosocial behavior, and self-development. The current study used two waves of well-being survey data collected over 2 years and supervisor performance ratings for 5691 employees. Ordinary least squares regression was conducted. Both well-being at baseline and two-year change in well-being were related to all six supervisor-rated performance dimensions, controlling for other employee characteristics. Overall well-being likely functioned as a resource enabling people to successfully perform across the specific areas highly valued by their company. Given this connection, well-being interventions could be used as a means to accomplish improved performance in dimensions that contribute to organizational performance.

When the dark ones become darker: How promotion focus moderates the effects of the dark triad on supervisor performance ratings

SummaryThe current study adds to a growing body of research on dark personality traits by investigating the moderating role of promotion focus on the relationships among dark triad traits and facets of job performance. Specifically, we investigated the effects of the dark triad (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) on supervisor ratings of performance, and the moderating effect promotion focus has on those effects. Using field data, we surveyed 549 employees from a manufacturing company in the USA and obtained supervisor ratings of task performance and helping behavior for each employee. We found support for multiple hypotheses, which suggests that managers rated narcissistic and psychopathic employees as having poorer task performance and psychopathic employees as engaging in fewer helping behaviors than employees low in those traits. Furthermore, promotion focus strengthened these negative relationships. We did not find these effects for Machiavellianism. Implications of these findings for future dark personality research as well as the practical implications for managers and organizations are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Leader Profiles and Their Effectiveness on Employees’ Outcomes

An underlying premise of the transformational–transactional leadership theory is that different forms of leadership can reside simultaneously within the same individual. This fundamental hypothesis has received scarce attention in the empirical literature. The objectives of this study are thus to examine whether leader profiles combining these leadership forms do exist and to evaluate how these profiles are associated with specific employee attitudes and behaviors. Results obtained from two different samples using cluster analyses revealed six different leader profiles (i.e., superleaders, transactors, moderate leaders, distant-visionary, distant-rewarding, and distant-punitive leaders). Our results showed that these types of leaders differ in terms of employees’ perceptions of trust, justice, and commitment, as well as supervisor-rated in-role and contextual performance. Results and implications for research and practice are discussed.

Are proactive personalities always beneficial? Political skill as a moderator.

Does proactive personality always enhance job success? The authors of this study draw on socioanalytic theory of personality and organizational political perspectives to study employees' political skill in moderating the effects of proactive personality on supervisory ratings of employee task performance, helping behaviors, and learning behaviors. Multisource data from 225 subordinates and their 75 immediate supervisors reveal that proactive personality is associated negatively with supervisory evaluations when political skill is low, and the negative relationship disappears when political skill is high. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Executive Attention: An Alternative Perspective on General Mental Ability, Performance, and Subgroup Differences

The validity‐adverse impact tradeoff associated with the relationships among general mental ability (GMA), ethnicity, and employee performance represents one of the most pressing concerns in organizational staffing. We conducted 4 studies with 273 bank employees and 197 university students designed to assess the extent to which executive attention (EA) and GMA predict simulation performance and supervisory ratings of performance. We also assess the extent to which measures of EA and GMA are associated with subgroup differences. Results indicate that, like GMA, EA positively predicts managerial simulation and supervisory ratings of performance. In addition, although reaching statistical significance in only 1 of our 4 studies, EA was generally associated with smaller subgroup differences than GMA, and meta‐analysis across our samples supports this reduced subgroup difference. Moreover, advantages of EA tend to increase as studies move from the laboratory with undergraduate students to a concurrent validation organizational setting with employees. We discuss implications for a theory‐based view of cognitive ability in employee selection and implications for managerial practice.

Effects Of Peer Ratings On Supervisor Ratings Of Job Performance

The influence of peer rating information on supervisor performance ratings was investigated using a 2 x 2 x 2 crossed factorial experimental design. Participants were undergraduate business students who assumed the role of supervisor and evaluated a fictitious subordinate whose performance was either good or poor. Participants were given fictitious information about peer ratings (high or low) from either one or three co-workers. As expected, peer rating information resulted in inflated performance ratings for poor performers and deflated ratings for good performers. No differences in performance ratings were found for a single versus multiple peer ratings. Contrary to expectations, rater personality characteristics (conscientiousness and agreeableness) did not moderate the influence of peer rating information on performance ratings.

Examining Group- and Individual-level Differences in LMX Experiences on Individual Outcomes

Applying arguments from leader-member exchange (LMX) and social comparison theory, we explore a three-way interaction between LMX quality, LMX differentiation (variance in LMX across workgroups), and LMX dissimilarity (within workgroup individual-level differences in LMX) to predict individual performance. The three-way interaction predicted three mediators – engagement, satisfaction, and perceived stress – such that high LMX differentiation and high LMX dissimilarity resulted in the strongest positive effect on engagement, satisfaction and stress as LMX quality increased. We reason this condition represents a minority employee in terms of LMX, working with a leader who is discerning and/or divisive. Such a minority employee, we argue, is likely motivated but also pressured to maintain that coveted status. All other combinations of LMX differentiation and LMX dissimilarity exhibited weaker relationships with predictors than the high-high condition. In turn, engagement and satisfaction positively predicted supervisor-rated performance, but perceived stress was not a significant predictor of performance. We discuss contributions our study makes to the literature in untangling the joint effects of LMX factors at multiple levels and shedding light on the nomological network of LMX differentiation; as well as practical recommendations for managers in improving leader-member relations, and, as a result, performance.

Morning employees are perceived as better employees: employees' start times influence supervisor performance ratings.

In this research, we draw from the stereotyping literature to suggest that supervisor ratings of job performance are affected by employees' start times-the time of day they first arrive at work. Even when accounting for total work hours, objective job performance, and employees' self-ratings of conscientiousness, we find that a later start time leads supervisors to perceive employees as less conscientious. These perceptions in turn cause supervisors to rate employees as lower performers. In addition, we show that supervisor chronotype acts as a boundary condition of the mediated model. Supervisors who prefer eveningness (i.e., owls) are less likely to hold negative stereotypes of employees with late start times than supervisors who prefer morningness (i.e., larks). Taken together, our results suggest that supervisor ratings of job performance are susceptible to stereotypic beliefs based on employees' start times. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).