Selective Attention as a Determinant of Escalation Bias in Subjective Performance Evaluation Judgments

Abstract

We use an experiment to examine escalation bias in subjective performance evaluations. Participants assume the role of manager and evaluate the performance of an employee based on a balanced-scorecard-type performance report. We manipulate whether managers recommended positively or negatively about the evaluated employee's promotion to his current position. Consistent with the presence of escalation bias, we find that managers give higher performance ratings to employees about whom they advised positively than to employees about whom they advised negatively. Using eye-tracking data, we investigate whether escalation bias arises because managers with different prior commitments toward the evaluated employee pay attention to different items in the scorecard. We find that evaluators' prior recommendation does not affect what proportion of their visual attention is given to favorable (versus unfavorable) performance measures, and that the relative attention paid to favorable measures is not associated with the performance rating.

Gazing through the bubble: an experimental investigation into financial risk-taking using eye-tracking

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“…In their experiment, Kramer and Maas (2019) find that managers exhibit escalation bias, in that they give subordinates whom they had previously rated more favorably higher subsequent evaluations than subordinates they had previously rated less favorably. However, eye-tracking evidence suggests that this is not driven by biased visual attention toward performance measures that reflect more positively on those subordinates.…”

“…19 In articles in the 'reporting' topic, we repeatedly find suggestions to better understand both visual and cognitive processing of accounting information. For example, several studies propose using eye-tracking technologies to investigate the role of visual attention to accounting information in decision-making (Chen et al, 2016;Kramer & Maas, 2019). More specifically, Brown et al (2019) propose studying how the use of mobile devices affects whether a decision-maker adopts a leisure versus a working frame of mind, and how this in turn influences attention to and use of accounting information.…”

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“…Penelitian ini merupakan integrasi dari penelitian Kramer and Maas (2019) dan Tayler (2010). Kramer and Maas (2019) menguji eskalasi bias dalam pengukuran kinerja, namun tidak menguji eskalasi komitmen dalam inisiatif strategi.…”

“…Penelitian ini merupakan integrasi dari penelitian Kramer and Maas (2019) dan Tayler (2010). Kramer and Maas (2019) menguji eskalasi bias dalam pengukuran kinerja, namun tidak menguji eskalasi komitmen dalam inisiatif strategi. Tayler (2010) menguji keberhasilan inisiatif strategi antara manajer yang terlibat dalam inisiatif strategi dan yang tidak terlibat, namun tidak membuktikan adanya eskalasi komitmen dalam pemilihan inisiatif strategi.…”