Influence of the formal performance evaluation and its mechanisms on the interpersonal trust between managers: perceived procedural justice and feedback quality

Abstract

This study uncovered the influence of the individual formal performance evaluation on trust between evaluators-evaluated managers of different hierarchical levels of a company and to what extent this trust is affected by two mechanisms used in evaluation, procedural fairness and feedback. Replicating the study by Hartmann and Slapnicar (2009) the data collection was performed through a questionnaire, translated from that study. Response was obtained from 262 managers of two hierarchical levels of a Brazilian transnational company, which has a consolidated formal performance evaluation system. The hypotheses elaborated were analyzed using descriptive statistics and modeling of structural equations. The results indicate that the individual formal performance evaluation of doesn't present a direct positive influence on the trust between evaluators-evaluated managers of different hierarchical levels, however, this trust is influenced by mechanisms such as feedback quality and perceived procedural fairness. While the results of Hartmann and Slapnicar (2009) indicated that trust between evaluators-evaluated managers of different hierarchical levels depends on the formality of the performance evaluation procedure, in this study dissonances that instigate further research were evidenced.

Keywords:
Performance evaluation; Interpersonal trust; Procedural justice; Feedback