Leadership, performance evaluations, and all the usual suspects

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend investigation of differences in job performance related ratings across racial and ethnic groupings by comparing predictions derived from the theories of similarity‐attraction and social categorization with predictions derived from leader‐member exchange theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data are secured from 91 matched pairs (managerial level subordinates and immediate supervisor) secured in a field study of 17 employers of choice in the geographical area served by a metropolitan university in the USA. A moderated hierarchical regression is performed to test the two original hypotheses, and a chi‐square analysis tests a third hypothesis evolving from the data.

Findings

Examination of data reveals that supervisor and subordinate racial demographics are weak predictors of measures of subordinate performance. Measures of leader‐member exchange make any contributions attributed to racial demographics insignificant.

Research limitations/implications

This research is subject to all the concerns associated with field studies and quasi‐experiments.

Practical implications

Since high quality exchange between supervisor and subordinate is a track inward to the central core of the management system and upward mobility, this study points to the value of providing all managers and all subordinates exposure to and instruction in how to initiate and maintain a high quality social exchanges across racial and ethnic groupings.

Originality/value

While null results such as reported in this study are not typically found in the literature, they should spark additional theory development especially when the research methods used are robust.

Citation

Stark, E. and Poppler, P. (2009), "Leadership, performance evaluations, and all the usual suspects", Personnel Review, Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 320-338. https://doi.org/10.1108/00483480910943368