This paper examines the relationship between subjectivity in performance evaluation and the three dimensions of justice perceptions in an emerging economy; prior research on this topic has primarily focused solely on the advanced capitalist economies of Western nations. The paper also aims to expand on existing research by focusing on the role of interactional justice perceptions in relation to subjective evaluation (Byrne et al. in Hum Resour Manag J 22(2):129–147; Folger and Cropanzano, in Organizational justice and human resource management, Sage, Thousand Oaks, 1998). Results from a survey of 160 middle managers in Vietnam indicate that subjective evaluation is associated predominantly with negative effects. We found that, in an emerging economy like that of Vietnam, subjective evaluation reduces interactional justice perception, which in turn decreases the perception of procedural and distributive justice. The mediating effects suggest that the reason subjective evaluation influences employee procedural/distributive justice perceptions lies in the interactional justice perceived from supervisors. This research clarifies the effects of subjective evaluation on the dimensions of justice perception and contributes to the literature on performance evaluation and organizational justice in a non-Western context. It also highlights the importance of respect and communication for fairness perception in both theory and practice.

This study explores the notion of subjectivity in performance evaluation as a multidimensional concept, including ex ante specified and ex post subjective evaluation, which are determined at different phases of an evaluation period. This distinction is important as these subjectivity types have different purposes and varying impacts on organisational outcomes. Based on a survey of 160 Vietnamese middle managers, we uncover their assorted impacts on perceived procedural justice across contexts of formalisation and job autonomy. As such, this study seeks to offer important insights on the literature of subjective evaluation and organisational justice.