UNPACKING THE EVALUATION–PERFORMANCE LINK: THE ROLE OF SUBORDINATE TRUST IN SUPERVISORS
Abstract
This study unpacks the relationship between formal performance evaluation and job performance by examining the mediating role of subordinates’ trust in their supervisors. Data were collected through an online survey of 103 teachers from private schools in Indonesia and analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with Smart PLS 4.0. The findings reveal that formal performance evaluation systems foster greater trust in supervisors, which in turn significantly enhances job performance. Theoretically, this study extends the performance evaluation literature by highlighting trust as a critical relational mechanism that connects evaluation practices to employee outcomes. Practically, the results emphasize the strategic importance of cultivating trust through fair and structured evaluation systems to improve organizational effectiveness.
Downloads
References
Abdillah, W., & Hartono, J. (2015). Partial Least Square (PLS): Alternatif Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) dalam Penelitian Bisnis. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Andi.
Alsaid, L. A. Z. A., & Ambilichu, C. A. (2021). The Influence of Institutional Pressures on the Implementation of a Performance Measurement System in an Egyptian Social Enterprise. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, 18(1), 53-83. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-03-2020-0027
Alsharari, N. M. (2024). The Interplay of Strategic Management Accounting, Business Strategy and Organizational Change: As Influenced by a Configurational Theory. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 20(1), 153-176. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-09-2021-0130
Anthony, R. N., & Govindarajan, V. (2007). Management Control System, the 12th Edition. New York: Mc. Grow Hill Companies Inc.
Asiaei, K., Bontis, N., Barani, O., & Jusoh, R. (2021). Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems: Implications for Organizational Performance. Journal of Management Control, 32(1), 85-126. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00187-021-00317-4
Beusch, P., Frisk, J. E., Rosén, M., & Dilla, W. (2022). Management Control for Sustainability: Towards Integrated Systems. Management accounting research, 54. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2021.100777
Bracci, E., Mouhcine, T., Rana, T., & Wickramasinghe, D. (2022). Risk Management and Management Accounting Control Systems in Public Sector Organizations: A Systematic Literature Review. Public Money & Management, 42(6), 395-402. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2021.1963071
Brown, S., Gray, D., McHardy, J., & Taylor, K. (2015). Employee Trust and Workplace Performance. Journal of economic behavior & organization, 116, 361-378. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2015.05.001
Cardy, R. L. (2015). Informal and Formal Performance Management: Both are Needed. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 8(1), 108-111. doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2015.7
Chen, S.-j., Lin, P.-F., Lu, C.-m., & Tsao, C.-W. (2007). The Moderation Effect of HR Strength on the Relationship between Employee Commitment and Job Performance. Social Behavior & Personality: an international journal, 35(8), 1121-1138. doi:https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2007.35.8.1121
Cheng, X., Fu, S., Han, Y., & Zarifis, A. (2017). Investigating the Individual Trust and School Performance in Semi-Virtual Collaboration Groups. Information Technology & People, 30(3), 691-707. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-01-2016-0024
Chenhall, R. H., & Langfield-Smith, K. (1998). The Relationship between Strategic Priorities, Management Techniques and Management Accounting: An Empirical Investigation Using a Systems Approach. Accounting, organizations and society, 23(3), 243-264. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0361-3682(97)00024-X
Chenhall, R. H., & Langfield-Smith, K. (2007). Multiple Perspectives of Performance Measures. European management journal, 25(4), 266-282. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2007.06.001
Coletti, A. L., Sedatole, K. L., & Towry, K. L. (2005). The Effect of Control Systems on Trust and Cooperation in Collaborative Environments. The Accounting Review, 80(2), 477-500. doi:https://doi.org/10.2308/accr.2005.80.2.477
Das, T. K., & Teng, B.-S. (1998). Between Trust and Control: Developing Confidence in Partner Cooperation in Alliances. Academy of management review, 23(3), 491-512. doi:https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1998.926623
Das, T. K., & Teng, B.-S. (2001). Trust, Control, and Risk in Strategic Alliances: An Integrated Framework. Organization studies, 22(2), 251-283. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840601222004
Desriani, N., & Sholihin, M. (2012). The Impact of Perceived Performance Evaluation Formality on Managers' Behavior. The Indonesian Journal of Accounting Research, 15(1). doi:http://doi.org/10.33312/ijar.248
Dirks, K. T., & Ferrin, D. L. (2002). Trust in Leadership: Meta-Analytic Findings and Implications for Research and Practice. Journal of applied psychology, 87(4), 611-628. doi:https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.87.4.611
Dirks, K. T., & Jong, B. d. (2022). Trust Within the Workplace: A Review of Two Waves of Research and a Glimpse of the Third. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 9(1), 247-276. doi:https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012420-083025
Fareed, M. Z., Su, Q., Almutairi, M., Munir, K., & Fareed, M. M. S. (2022). Transformational Leadership and Project Success: The Mediating Role of Trust and Job Satisfaction. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1-14. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.954052
Finster, M., & Milanowski, A. (2018). Teacher Perceptions of a New Performance Evaluation System and Their Influence on Practice: A Within-and between-School Level Analysis. Education policy analysis archives, 26, 1-48. doi:https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.26.3500
Fisher, J. G., Maines, L. A., Peffer, S. A., & Sprinkle, G. B. (2005). An Experimental Investigation of Employer Discretion in Employee Performance Evaluation and Compensation. The Accounting Review, 80(2), 563-583. doi:https://doi.org/10.2308/accr.2005.80.2.563
Hartmann, F., Kraus, K., Nilsson, G., Anthony, R., & Govindarajan, V. (2020). Management Control Systems: Second Edtion. London: McGraw-Hill Education.
Hartmann, F., & Slapničar, S. (2009). How Formal Performance Evaluation Affects Trust Between Superior and Subordinate Managers. Accounting, organizations and society, 34(6-7), 722-737. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2008.11.004
Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. (2008). Evaluating Model Fit: A Synthesis of the Structural Equation Modelling Literature. Paper presented at the 7th European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies.
Hunter, S. B., & Springer, M. G. (2022). Critical Feedback Characteristics, Teacher Human Capital, and Early-Career Teacher Performance: A Mixed-Methods Analysis. Educational evaluation and policy analysis, 44(3), 380-403. doi:https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737211062913
Judeh, M. (2016). The Influence of Organizational Trust on Job Performance: Mediating Role of Employee Engagement. International Journal of Business Research, 16(5), 53-66. doi:https://doi.org/10.18374/ijbr-16-5.4
Karhapää, S.-J., Savolainen, T., & Malkamäki, K. (2022). Trust and Performance: A Contextual Study of Management Change in Private and Public Organisation. Baltic Journal of Management, 17(6), 35-51. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/BJM-06-2022-0212
Lau, C. M., & Buckland, C. (2001). Budgeting—The Role of Trust and Participation: A Research Note. Abacus, 37(3), 369-388. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6281.00092
Lau, C. M., & Sholihin, M. (2005). Financial and Nonfinancial Performance Measures: How Do They Affect Job Satisfaction?. The British Accounting Review, 37(4), 389-413. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2005.06.002
Lăzăroiu, G., Ionescu, L., Andronie, M., & Dijmărescu, I. (2020). Sustainability Management and Performance in the Urban Corporate Economy: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability, 12(18), 1-13. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187705
Lina, Sholihin, M., Sugiri, S., & Handayani, W. (2022). The Effect of Formal Performance Evaluation and Intrinsic Religiosity on Trust. Cogent Business & Management, 9(1), 1-29. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2127191
Long, C. P., & Sitkin, S. B. (2018). Control–Trust Dynamics in Organizations: Identifying Shared Perspectives and Charting Conceptual Fault Lines. Academy of management annals, 12(2), 725-751. doi:https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2016.0055
Lu, T.-P., & Chen, J. (2024). The Effects of Teacher’s Emotional Intelligence on Team-Member Exchange and Job Performance: The Moderating Role of Teacher Seniority. Current Psychology, 43(5), 4323-4336. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04593-2
Maestrini, V., Patrucco, A. S., Luzzini, D., Caniato, F., & Maccarrone, P. (2021). Supplier Performance Measurement System Use, Relationship Trust, and Performance Improvement: A Dyadic Perspective. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 32(4), 1242-1263. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-08-2020-0339
Malhotra, D., & Murnighan, J. K. (2002). The Effects of Contracts on Interpersonal Trust. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47(3), 534-559. doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/3094850
Maslikha, I., Fauzi, A., Sutomo, D., & Fakhruddin, M. R. (2022). The Effect of Interpersonal Communication and Organizational Trust on Employee Engagement and Their Impact on Job Performance. Dinasti International Journal of Economics, Finance & Accounting (DIJEFA), 3(5), 564-575. doi:https://doi.org/10.38035/dijefa.v3i5.1485
Nešić, A., & Lalić, D. (2016). The Impact of Trust on Job Performance in Organisations. Management: Journal of Sustainable Business and Management Solutions in Emerging Economies, 21(81), 27-34. doi:https://doi.org/10.7595/management.fon.2016.0028
Nugraha, A. T., Wahyudi, R., Fawzi, A. M., & Sunarti, S. (2022). Eco Design, Internal Environment Management, Just in Time and Organizational Performance: Examining Moderating Role of Trust: Examining Moderating Role of Trust. Jurnal Manajemen Indonesia, 22(3), 396-405. doi:https://doi.org/10.25124/jmi.v22i3.3673
Parlar, H., Türkoğlu, M. E., & Cansoy, R. (2022). Exploring How Authoritarian Leadership Affects Commitment: The Mediating Roles of Trust in the School Principal and Silence. International Journal of Educational Management, 36(1), 110-129. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-04-2021-0160
Radtke, R. R., Speklé, R. F., & Widener, S. K. (2023). Flourish or Flounder: Do Trust-Centric Management Controls Encourage Knowledge Sharing and Team Performance?. Accounting, organizations and society, 107. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2022.101429
Rana, A. M., Zainol, F. A., Yaacob, M. R., Ahmad, H., & Kashif-ur-Rehman. (2018). Organizational Commitment and Ethical Conduct on Team Performance: Evidence from Pakistan. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(7), 328-339. doi:https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i7/4344
Reddy, J. M., Rao, N., & Krishnanand. (2019). A Review on Supply Chain Performance Measurement Systems. Procedia Manuf, 30, 40-47. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2019.02.007
Robert, M., Giuliani, P., & Gurau, C. (2022). Implementing Industry 4.0 Real-Time Performance Management Systems: The Case of Schneider Electric. Production Planning & Control, 33(2-3), 244-260. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2020.1810761
Sholihin, M., & Pike, R. (2009). Fairness in Performance Evaluation and its Behavioural Consequences. Accounting and Business Research, 39(4), 397-413. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00014788.2009.9663374
Singh, K. (2018). Impact of Organizational Trust on Job Performance: A Study of Land and Survey Department. Advances in Business Research International Journal (ABRIJ), 4(1), 1-8. doi:https://doi.org/10.24191/abrij.v4i1.10052
Varshney, D., & Varshney, N. K. (2017). Measuring The Impact of Trust on Job Performance and Self-Efficacy in a Project: Evidence from Saudi Arabia. Journal of Applied Business Research, 33(5), 1-10. doi:https://doi.org/10.19030/jabr.v33i5.10017
Verburg, R. M., Nienaber, A.-M., Searle, R. H., Weibel, A., Den Hartog, D. N., & Rupp, D. E. (2018). The Role of Organizational Control Systems in Employees’ Organizational Trust and Performance Outcomes. Group & Organization Management, 43(2), 179-206. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601117725191
Wang, Q., Wang, A., & Li, R. (2019). The Impact of Promotion Justice on Job Performance and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Mediating Role of Trust. Proceedings of the 2019 3rd International Seminar on Education, Management and Social Sciences (ISEMSS 2019), 346, 121-125. doi:https://doi.org/10.2991/isemss-19.2019.21
Wang, T., & Montes, D. C. (2021). Establishment of Performance Evaluation System for Marketing Companies-Based on the Perspective of Strategic Management Accounting. Academic Journal of Business & Management, 3(9), 5-8. doi:https://doi.org/10.25236/ajbm.2021.030902
Weibel, A., Hartog, D. N. D., Gillespie, N., Searle, R., Six, F., & Skinner, D. (2016). How Do Controls Impact Employee Trust in the Employer?. Human resource management, 55(3), 437-462. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21733
Yang, K., & Holzer, M. (2006). The Performance–Trust Link: Implications for Performance Measurement. Public administration review, 66(1), 114-126. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2006.00560.x
Yu, D., & Chen, J. (2023). Emotional Well-Being and Performance of Middle Leaders: The Role of Organisational Trust in Early Childhood Education. Journal of Educational Administration, 61(6), 549-566. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-11-2022-0196

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Jurnal Akutansi dan Keuangan allows readers to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of its articles and allow readers to use them for any other lawful purpose. The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions. Finally, the journal allows the author(s) to retain publishing rights without restrictions
Authors are allowed to archive their submitted article in an open access repository
Authors are allowed to archive the final published article in an open access repository with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal




