Identification and Performance Management

Abstract

Identity and identification are root constructs in organization studies. Identity provides an interpretive framework with which to evaluate the appropriateness of behavior, and as such, in organizations the construct has a fundamental relationship with employee performance. This study develops a theoretical framework linking identification to change-oriented behavior, a type of extra-role activity aimed at introducing micro-level organizational change in order to improve long-term performance and efficiency. Enhancing the performance of public organizations is a central theme of public administration theory and practice, and this study contributes to the literature by shedding light on a potentially important employee-level antecedent of organizational performance. Secondly, this study links identification and change-oriented behavior to a phenomenon that has grown increasingly prevalent in contemporary public organizations, namely, goal-oriented performance management. Over the past decades, public organizations around the world have implemented results-based reforms in order to increase accountability, efficiency, and performance. Due to the scope and complexity of these reforms, however, their full range of consequences is not yet known. This study aims to make a second contribution to the literature by linking performance management practices to both organizational identification and change-oriented behavior. Using survey data gathered from employees of central government ministries in South Korea, where a wide range of results-based reforms have been introduced, mediation analysis utilizing bootstrap resampling is used to test a number of empirical hypotheses related to the constructs outlined above. The results of the analysis suggest that organizational identification is a strong predictor of change-oriented behavior. In addition, the effect of performance management on employee intentions to engage in change-oriented behavior is shown to operate primarily through its effect on organizational identification, which underscores the importance of identification for organizational performance. Following the presentation of the results of the analysis, the theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.