{"title":"Halos, Performance Matching, and PSM: Experimental Evidence of Performance Appraisal Bias Among Korean Government Workers","authors":"Phil Kim, Jesse W. Campbell","doi":"10.1177/0734371x251371241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x251371241","url":null,"abstract":"Performance appraisal is a central human resource management tool in government, and high-quality, fair, and objective appraisals contribute to organizational performance. By contrast, biased performance appraisal undermines employee morale and, ultimately, the merit system. This study examines three sources of bias in performance evaluations: the halo effect, similarity-attraction factors between rater and rate, and public service motivation (PSM). Using a two-by-two vignette-based survey experiment and a large sample of Korean government workers, we confirm earlier findings on the biasing influence of unrelated information on performance ratings. Second, while we find no effect of gender matching, we show that raters who self-identify as high-performance employees give lower than average ratings to low-performance workers, thereby amplifying the halo effect. Finally, we find that PSM is associated with inflated performance ratings across genders and performance categories. We discuss how our results can inform efforts to improve the fairness and accuracy of employee performance appraisals.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145289503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Strategic Human Resource Development in Practice: Leveraging Talent for Sustained Performance in the Digital Age of AI - A Book Review YorksLAbelA. L.RotatoriD. (2022). Strategic human resource development in practice: Leveraging talent for sustained performance in the digital age of AI. Springer. 199 pp. $87.29 hardcover. ISBN: 978-3-030-95775-9.","authors":"Muhammad Rofi’ud Muta’al, Putri Wahyu Widayanti","doi":"10.1177/0734371x251377382","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x251377382","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145181200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Martin Sievert, Claudio Buongiorno Sottoriva, Petra van den Bekerom
{"title":"Who’s Here and Who’s Coming: Rethinking Symbolic Representation in Public Sector Recruitment","authors":"Martin Sievert, Claudio Buongiorno Sottoriva, Petra van den Bekerom","doi":"10.1177/0734371x251369127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x251369127","url":null,"abstract":"This article connects symbolic representation research to public sector recruiting. We theorize how gender diversity signals in hiring may affect job seekers’ intentions to apply and perceived organizational attractiveness. We contribute to representative bureaucracy by offering an extended reasoning about distinctive cognitive mechanisms, separating descriptive from prescriptive symbolic representation. The former reflects current representation related to identity-fit considerations, while the latter constitutes stated organizational goals for gender diversity, which evoke value congruence assessments. We investigate whether these signals impact organizational attractiveness and application intentions using a survey experiment ( <jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 1,469 adults). The statistical analysis unveils mostly null findings when accounting for participants’ gender. Results indicate that public organizations cannot easily harness the benefits of symbolic representation signals, at least not in their initial recruiting efforts. Future research should further examine whether (symbolic) representation has positive effects in later stages of the recruitment process, such as interviews or selection procedures.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145072775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Representation of Invisible Identities in the Workplace: Faith, Spirituality, or Religious Beliefs Among Female Civil Servants in Federal Law Enforcement","authors":"Helen H. Yu, Ashley M. Alteri","doi":"10.1177/0734371x251365991","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x251365991","url":null,"abstract":"Decades of scholarship exist on passive representation and visible identities such as gender, race, and ethnicity. However, literature on passive representation and invisible identities such as religion is practically non-existent in the public administration domain. Drawing on survey data from 427 female civil servants representing 47 federal law enforcement agencies in the United States, this study introduces a religious profile of the federal workforce, while investigating faith, spirituality, and religious diversity. Findings suggest that the federal workforce is broadly representative of the U.S. population that identify as religious or spiritual (82.5%). However, when examining for specific religions or faiths, the percentage that identify as Catholic and spiritual but not religious are notably higher than the national average. Likewise, the percentage that identify as Protestant and non-religious are notably lower than the national average. Furthermore, this profile of the federal workforce that reports faith, spirituality, or religion as “very important” in their life (47%), with another 24.3% reporting that it is “somewhat important,” is also notably higher than the national average. These findings are important because they extend the discourse for capturing invisible identities such as faith, spirituality, or religion in the federal workforce and have implications regarding passive representation for other organizations in public service.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144898329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jessica F. Khan, Willow S. Jacobson, Shannon H. Tufts, Hannah L. Somerville
{"title":"Is it Time to Reboot Local Government IT Professionals? Examining Emotional Labor in Local Government IT Professionals","authors":"Jessica F. Khan, Willow S. Jacobson, Shannon H. Tufts, Hannah L. Somerville","doi":"10.1177/0734371x251362589","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x251362589","url":null,"abstract":"The public sector has experienced a significant increase in its reliance on and expectations from the Information Technology (IT) function. This reliance has led to a significant burden placed upon public sector IT professionals to keep up with demand and has inevitably increased the emotional labor burden placed upon these workers. This article examines the extent and types of emotional labor experienced by local government IT professionals and how it has an impact on key workforce outcomes of burnout and job satisfaction. This article examines the impact of emotional labor types and levels on critical indicators of burnout (an increasing concern across the workforce) and employee satisfaction. Both burnout and job satisfaction have been linked to turnover intention and employee performance. This research adds to the empirical work on emotional labor including an analysis focused on the predictive value of emotional labor.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144898414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does Negative Performance Feedback Cause Managerial Turnover? The Moderating Role of Race","authors":"Xin Chen, Jinhai Yu","doi":"10.1177/0734371x251343327","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x251343327","url":null,"abstract":"While many governments have adopted performance-based accountability systems, how negative performance feedback affects managerial outcomes remains underexplored. We examine the impact of negative performance feedback on managerial turnover and the moderating role of race. We expect negative performance feedback to increase managerial turnover, with a greater impact for minority managers than their white counterparts. Using data from the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas, we employ a regression discontinuity design with close performance scores. The results show that lower performance ratings cause an increase in the turnover of school district superintendents. This effect is larger for Hispanic superintendents, particularly when there is a higher degree of racial congruence between the school boards and Hispanic superintendents. The findings provide causal evidence for the impact of negative organizational performance on managerial turnover and indicate differential impact by the race of public managers.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"91 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144335021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review: Public Personnel Management: Current Concerns, Future Challenges RiccucciN. M. (2024). Public personnel management: Current concerns, future challenges (7 th ed). New York: Routledge. 250 pp. ISBN-10:1032516674; ISBN-13:978-1032516677.","authors":"Ying Liu","doi":"10.1177/0734371x251348691","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x251348691","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144290118","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Symbolic Effect of Bureaucratic Representation Under Labor Shortage","authors":"Fangda Ding","doi":"10.1177/0734371x251337430","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x251337430","url":null,"abstract":"The idea of symbolic representation suggests bureaucratic representativeness can enhance citizens’ willingness to coproduce public services, though this effect is not always observed in real settings. While scholars have explored boundary conditions for limited effects of symbolic representation on coproduction, they typically assume fully staffed bureaucracies. How personnel status variations within representative bureaucracy affect represented citizens’ perceptions and their willingness to engage in coproduction is still unknown. This study examines how labor shortage in representative bureaucracy may shape the effect of symbolic representation on coproduction. Using rational choice and compassion theories, it develops competing hypotheses regarding the interaction between labor shortage and symbolic representation in shaping citizen coproduction and tests them through a survey experiment in the context of female bureaucratic representation and domestic violence. The perceived labor shortage is found to mitigate the positive effect of symbolic representation on women’s coproduction willingness, but only for the simplest coproduction activity.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144193038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Moderating role of Organizational Culture in the Relationship Between Job Autonomy and Innovative Behavior","authors":"Euipyo Lee","doi":"10.1177/0734371x251342001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x251342001","url":null,"abstract":"As modern governments face increasing pressure to meet citizens’ rising expectations, innovation has become a central focus for public organizations. While job autonomy is a well-established antecedent of individual innovative behavior, the moderating role of organizational culture in shaping this relationship remains underexplored. Public organizations often embody different types of culture, such as performance-oriented culture that emphasizes efficiency and adherence to predefined indicators, and innovation culture that encourages the generation and promotion of new ideas. Using data from the South Korean government and a competing values framework theory, this study examines the differential impacts of innovation culture versus performance-oriented culture on innovative behavior and assesses how these cultural orientations moderate the effect of job autonomy. Innovation culture not only directly fosters innovative behavior but also enhances the beneficial influence of job autonomy on such behavior. Conversely, a strong performance-oriented culture diminishes the positive relationship between job autonomy and innovative behavior.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144193202","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Meghna Sabharwal, Imane Hijal-Moghrabi, Sean McCandless
{"title":"A Case for Public Service: Why Cutting the Federal Workforce is Not Efficient?","authors":"Meghna Sabharwal, Imane Hijal-Moghrabi, Sean McCandless","doi":"10.1177/0734371x251344822","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x251344822","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144133688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}