Abstract

The effect of organizational conflict on the use of performance information is enigmatic and understudied. A study of the use of workplace assessments (WPAs) in 1669 Danish agencies shows that conflict operates in two ways. On the one hand, conflict is associated with lower levels of factors conventionally known to enhance use, including stakeholder participation, management support, and perceived reliability of the information. On the other hand, conflict is associated with an increase in the documentary function of WPAs (meaning the formal provision of documentation of knowledge already existing in the organization). This function may be central for the use of WPAs in formal organizational decision-making and helps explain how performance information can be consequential in contemporary organizations, even when people disagree about whether it provides a reliable picture of reality. The findings suggest that both theorists and practitioners should pay more attention to how different pathways to use of performance information hinge on variations in the level of conflict.

摘要

组织冲突对绩效信息使用的影响是神秘的且尚未得到充分研究。一项对 1669 年丹麦机构使用工作场所评估 (WPA) 的研究表明，冲突以两种方式运作。一方面，冲突与传统上已知的用于增强使用的较低水平的因素有关，包括利益相关者的参与、管理支持和信息的感知可靠性。另一方面，冲突与 WPA 文件功能的增加有关（意味着正式提供组织中已经存在的知识文件）。此功能可能是在正式组织决策中使用 WPA 的核心，并有助于解释绩效信息如何在当代组织中产生影响，即使人们不同意它是否提供了可靠的现实图景。研究结果表明，理论家和实践者都应该更加关注使用绩效信息的不同途径如何取决于冲突水平的变化。