Trust as a moderator of the effect of performance evaluation style on job-related tension: A research note

Research in the field of organizational behaviour suggests that trust between organizational members is likely to yield significant benefits to both the individual and the organization as a whole. This research note is a report of an empirical study that examines trust as a moderator of the effect of using accounting information for performance evaluation on job-related tension. The results indicate that, given high levels of trust, the use of either a budget-consistrained or profit-conscious performance evaluation style is likely to result in lower levels of job-related tension than use of a non-accounting performance evaluation style. This finding is important given the dysfunctional behaviours that are often suggested to beassociated with job-related tension.