Determinants of Perceived Fairness of Performance Evaluations

Middle managers from three organizational samples responded to an open-ended questionnaire in which they described the determinants of particularly fair or unfair performance appraisals. By Qsort procedure, the responses were categorized and combined to yield seven distinct determinants of fairness in performance evaluations. Ratings of the perceived importance of these determinants were factor analyzed, revealing two distinct factors---procedural determinants and distributive determinants. The implications of the reported determinants are discussed with respect to existing research and theory on justice in organizations.