My research program focuses mainly on three research areas, two of which I have spent many years studying and a new one. Early in my career, I also focused on team processes but now I mostly investigate teams in either performance appraisal or organizational justice contexts. Recently, one of my interests related to performance appraisal has led me to also focus on employee reactions to the use of AI in human resources practices. Below I describe my interests in more depth:
Performance Appraisal/Management
Most of my current projects relate to the debate whether to eliminate performance ratings in organizations. For the past several years, academics and practitioners have been debating whether organizations should abolish performance ratings – a debate driven not by academics but by the many organizations that have eliminated performance ratings. In addition to investigating how employees react to organizations potentially eliminating performance ratings, I have also been investigating employee reactions to calibration meetings, which are widely used in organizations. Instead of supervisors deciding employee performance ratings, in many organizations, performance ratings are decided in a meeting in which the supervisor discusses subordinate performance with relevant others. Lastly, I also have a long standing interest regarding how to improve justice perceptions of performance management practices.
Organizational Justice
In addition to exploring organizational justice perceptions of performance management practices, I also have more theoretical research interests involving organizational justice. Several researchers have criticized the use of Social Exchange Theory as a blanket explanation for why employees reciprocate just treatment and support from organizations and their representatives (supervisors) with attitudes and behaviors benefiting the organization. My lab is currently investigating Social Exchange Theory by focusing specifically on employee felt obligation to reciprocate justice treatment by supervisors and the organizations with behaviors benefiting the organization.
Employee Reactions to AI in HR Practices
AI is fundamentally changing how organizations select employees and perhaps will also change how employee performance ratings are determined. In response to the explosion of the use of AI in employee selection, I have started a new line of research investigating reactions to AI-based evaluations of applicant performance on selection exercises. I received a grant from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology to investigate whether applicants view AI generated ratings in an assessment center as less fair than ratings assigned by human beings, and whether any perceived fairness differences have implications for how well applicants perform on assessment center exercises.