The influence of employee performance appraisal cynicism on intent to quit and sportsmanship

Abstract

Purpose Using job demands–resources (JD–R) theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of job demands (difficult performance appraisal (PA) objectives) and job resources (performance feedback and leader member exchange (LMX)) on employee reports of PA cynicism. The paper also investigates the consequences of PA cynicism on intent to quit and bad sportsmanship. Design/methodology/approach Survey data on PA demands and resources, PA cynicism and turnover intentions were obtained from employees. Supervisors rated their employees’ level of sportsmanship. Findings Contrary to the predictions of JD–R theory, the authors found that employees are most likely to be cynical when the..