Exploring perceived organisational formalisation and performance review system complexity as predictors of executive alienation in performance review systems

A number of discussions in organisation literature have focused on the alienating effect of formalisation on managerial as well as non-managerial employees. Most of the research studies have found support for the direct influence of formalisation on alienation, both positively as well as negatively. A few studies have found that formalisation did not have a direct influence on alienation but through the effects of other variables like role conflict, role ambiguity and organisational identification. We examined whether perceived performance review system complexity would predict variance in executive alienation beyond that predicted by perceived organisational formalisation in earlier studies. A total of 477 executives participated in a study that examined the factors associated with executive alienation. The outcome of our assessment shows that while there is no significant direct influence of perceived organisational formalisation on executive alienation, it has an indirect effect on executive alienation through perceived performance review system complexity. Based on the outcome, we discuss the implications for future research and practice.