Toward a Better Understanding of Assessment Centers: A Conceptual Review

Assessment centers (ACs) are employed for selecting and developing employees and leaders. They are interpersonal at their core because they consist of interactive exercises. Minding this perspective, this review focuses on the role of the assessee, the assessor, and the AC design, as well as their interplay in the interpersonal situation of the AC. Therefore, it addresses which conceptual perspectives have increased our understanding of ACs in this context. Building on this, we review relevant empirical findings. On this basis, the review contributes to an empirically driven understanding of the interpersonal nature of ACs and provides directions for practice and future research avenues on this topic as well as on technology in ACs and cross-cultural applications.