Effects of performance appraisal systems on marketing managers

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of features of performance appraisal systems (PAS) on marketing managers' behavioural and psychological responses. More specifically, four characteristics of performance appraisal systems (output PAS, behaviour PAS, document PAS and interpersonal PAS) and four key criterion variables (subordinate defensiveness, bureaucratic behaviour, invalid/misleading data reporting and satisfaction with the appraisal system) are considered. A survey of US marketing managers was conducted to test the developed hypotheses. The results support the notion of direct effects of the performance appraisal characteristics on the consequence variables. Implications for practice, study limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.The performance appraisal of marketing personnel is a pervasive organisational issue of critical importance for both the implementation (Bonoma 1985) and control of marketing programs (Jaworski 1988). Indeed, how the performance appraisal process is managed can determine the success or failure of specific programs (Churchill et al. 1993). In this context, performance appraisal is considered an integral component of the overall control process of marketing personnel (see Larson 1984). Control of marketing personnel embraces the acts of influencing the tasks and activities to be executed to achieve desired outcomes and determining how well these tasks and activities were done (see Euske 1984). In this regard, performance appraisal systems (PAS) are the methods and/or procedures used by superiors to evaluate the performance of their subordinates and communicate the results, with the purpose of influencing their behaviour and activities to achieve desired outcomes.More specifically, at the individual level the process of performance appraisal may indirectly influence the performance and behaviour of marketing personnel. Performance appraisal provides marketing managers with the necessary information to adjust their behaviour so as to coincide with management's expectations (Cocanougher and Ivancevich 1978). Furthermore, the perception of unfair or biased appraisals could lower the marketing manager's motivation on the job by influencing his/her perception of the relationship between performance and the variations in the rewards received (see Walker et al. 1977). In addition, the appraisal process can induce feelings of satisfaction and organisational commitment by implicitly or explicitly rewarding certain types of behaviour (Landy et al. 1978). Finally, it can serve as a training tool by identifying the weaknesses in marketing employees' behaviours and an administrative decision-making tool for promotions and terminations (Mohrman et al. 1989).Though performance appraisal systems are designed to produce positive outcomes for management, negative consequences also may arise from them. For 836 Vlasis Stathakopoulos example, a brand manager whose performance appraisal is based essentially on output (e.g. market share) may find it necessary to work primarily on inc...

Employee Performance Appraisal in the Hospitality Industry

“…Volume 10, Number 4 Cappelli and Conyon (2018) stated that the evaluation of an employee's job performance is a standard practice in every organization; furthermore, they specified that performance appraisal directly influences employee work outcomes to different extents, such as employee bonuses, burnout, employee promotions, and turnover. Stathakopoulos (1997) stated that the purpose of his study was to explore the influence of the factors of performance appraisal system on managerial responses, so he found that the performance appraisal system has direct effects on dysfunctional behavior and satisfaction with the appraisal system.…”