Examining the Relationships Between Performance Appraisal Reactions and Employee Engagement

140 Pages·2017·4.37 MB·English

University of Texas at Tyler
Scholar Works at UT Tyler
Human Resource Development Theses and
Human Resource Development
Dissertations
Spring 4-25-2017
Examining the Relationships Between Performance
Appraisal Reactions and Employee Engagement
Kenneth B. LeVan
University of Texas at Tyler
Follow this and additional works at:https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/hrd_grad
Part of theBusiness Administration, Management, and Operations Commons,Performance
Management Commons, and theTraining and Development Commons
Recommended Citation
LeVan, Kenneth B., "Examining the Relationships Between Performance Appraisal Reactions and Employee Engagement" (2017).
Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations.Paper 18.
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/558
This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Human
Resource Development at Scholar Works at UT Tyler. It has been accepted
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EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
REACTIONS AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

by

BEN LeVAN

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Human Resource Development and Technology

Jerry W. Gilley, Ed.D., Committee Chair

College of Business and Technology

The University of Texas at Tyler
April 2017
The University of Texas at Tyler
Tyler, Texas

This is to certify that the Doctoral Dissertation of

BEN LeVAN

has been approved for the dissertation proposal requirement on
April 7, 2017
for the Doctor of Philosophy degree
© Copyright by Ben LeVan 2017
All rights reserved
Acknowledgements
Words cannot adequately express the gratitude in my heart for the countless ways
that so many have labored alongside me in this doctoral journey. I thank, first and
foremost, the Lord above from whom all blessing flow. I also thank my precious wife
Stephanie who shouldered numerous family and household responsibilities, affording me
the needed time to work on my degree. For all your many sacrifices, my love, I am
deeply grateful.
To my children, Julia and Dawson, who do not remember a time when their father
was not working on a degree, I say thank you for your patience and support. Know that
you are deeply treasured and loved. I pray that you may be similarly encouraged as you
persevere through all of life’s many challenges.
To my in-laws, William and Rilla Crothers, I thank you for your faithfulness to
me and our family through this circuitous journey. I am most appreciative to you, mom,
for proofreading an unending stream of drafts without complaint or hesitation and always
doing so in a timely fashion.
To my dissertation chair, Dr. Jerry Gilley, I thank you for the inspiration that
sparked the idea to examine the relationship between the performance appraisal process
and employee engagement. It is my hope that this work advances your efforts to improve
the skills of those in leadership positions. I am especially grateful for your courage and
advocacy when the “going got tough.” Your dedication and fortitude are deeply
appreciated.
To Dr. Jim Wilkerson, I thank you for being there in my time of need even though
your plate was already full. Your insights into the social sciences, statistics, and the
English language have been profound and have made me a better scholar and practitioner.
I am also grateful for your editorial expertise, finding all those serial commas, split
infinitives, and ill-used gerunds. May God grant you a ten-fold return for all your efforts
on my behalf.
To Dr. Ann Gilley, I thank you for your straightforward way of injecting sanity
into the dissertation process and validating so many of my thoughts and concerns. Your
reminder to me that, “we work for you” was especially heartening. Directly and
indirectly you have made such an impact to my personal and professional career.
To Dr. Paul Roberts, thank you for being consistently supportive throughout the
entire process. Right from the beginning, at my first AHRD conference, your
encouraging words and steadying support have been reassuring.
To the UT Tyler faculty, I thank you for your devotion to your discipline and your
dedication to your students. You have modeled the way I now conduct myself in my
university classroom.
To my fellow classmates, I thank you for sharing your insights on the subjects we
studied and for the words of encouragement to continue the journey. It has been a
privilege to travel this path alongside you; I am grateful for our time together.
Finally, I thank the many friends, family, and colleagues who encouraged me
along the way through words of affirmation, by covering classes for me when I needed to
be in Texas, or by offering up countless prayers on my behalf. I am a blessed man.
Table of Contents

List of Tables ......................................................................................................... vi
List of Figures ....................................................................................................... vii
Chapter One ............................................................................................................ 1
Background to the Problem .............................................................................. 1
Need for the Study ............................................................................................ 3
Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................... 6
Theoretical/Conceptual Underpinnings of the Study ........................................ 6
Identified Research Gap .................................................................................. 10
Research Questions ......................................................................................... 11
Overview of the Design of the Study .............................................................. 12
Delimitations ................................................................................................... 12
Limitations ...................................................................................................... 12
Definition of Terms ......................................................................................... 14
Summary of the Chapter and Organization of the Dissertation ...................... 17
Chapter Two – Review of Literature .................................................................... 19
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 19
Desired Outcomes of the PA Process ............................................................. 19
Organizational Goal Alignment. ............................................................... 20
Manager-employee Communications. ...................................................... 20
i
Employee Development. ........................................................................... 21
Effective Personnel Administration. ......................................................... 21
Reactions to the PA Process ........................................................................... 21
PA Reactions and Employee Engagement ..................................................... 24
System Satisfaction. .................................................................................. 24
Session Satisfaction. ................................................................................. 25
Perceived Utility. ...................................................................................... 26
Perceived Accuracy. ................................................................................. 26
Procedural Justice. .................................................................................... 27
Distributive Justice. ................................................................................... 29
PA Reactions. ............................................................................................ 32
Chapter Summary ........................................................................................... 32
Chapter Three – Methodology .............................................................................. 33
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 33
Research Hypotheses ...................................................................................... 33
Design of the Study ......................................................................................... 33
Population ....................................................................................................... 36
Sample ............................................................................................................. 36
Measurement Instruments ............................................................................... 38
PA Reactions. ............................................................................................ 39
System Satisfaction. .................................................................................. 39
ii
Session Satisfaction. ................................................................................. 40
Perceived Utility. ...................................................................................... 40
Perceived Accuracy. ................................................................................. 40
Procedural Justice. .................................................................................... 41
Distributive Justice. ................................................................................... 41
Employee Engagement. ............................................................................ 42
Physical Engagement. ............................................................................... 42
Emotional Engagement. ............................................................................ 43
Cognitive Engagement. ............................................................................. 43
Demographics. .......................................................................................... 43
PA Characteristics. .................................................................................... 44
Survey Design ................................................................................................. 44
Data Collection Procedures ............................................................................. 47
Data Analysis Procedures ............................................................................... 47
Data Screening. ......................................................................................... 48
Demographic Analysis. ............................................................................. 49
Measurement and Structural Model Analysis. .......................................... 49
Summary of the Chapter ................................................................................. 52
Chapter Four – Results .......................................................................................... 53
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 53
Data Screening ................................................................................................ 53
iii
Sample Demographics .................................................................................... 53
Assumption Testing ........................................................................................ 61
Data Reliability ............................................................................................... 61
Measurement Model Analysis ........................................................................ 63
Theoretical Structural Model Analysis ........................................................... 65
Chapter Summary ........................................................................................... 67
Chapter Five – Discussion .................................................................................... 70
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 70
Study Summary ............................................................................................... 70
Implications ..................................................................................................... 71
Ambiguity between PA process components. .......................................... 72
PA ratings affect employee engagement. .................................................. 74
Frequent feedback will result in higher employee engagement. ............... 76
Alternatives to the PA process. ................................................................. 77
Limitations ...................................................................................................... 78
Future Research .............................................................................................. 79
Chapter Summary ........................................................................................... 81
References ............................................................................................................. 83
Appendix A: Participant Survey ........................................................................... 96
Appendix B: Survey Invitation ........................................................................... 109
Appendix C: Instruments .................................................................................... 110
iv