Wanting More, Getting Less: Gaming Performance Measurement as a Form of Deviant Workplace Behavior

Abstract

Investigating the causes of unethical behaviors in academia, such as scientific misconduct, has become a highly important research subject. The current performance measurement practices (e.g., equating research performance with the number of publications in top-tier journals) are frequently referred to as being responsible for scientists' unethical behaviors. We conducted qualitative semistructured interviews with different stakeholders of the higher education system (e.g., professors and policy makers; N = 43) to analyze the influence of performance measurement on scientists' behavior. We followed a threestep coding procedure and found (1) that the participants described a variety of positive behavioral consequences (e.g., higher productivity) but mainly negative behavioral consequences (e.g., questionable publishing practices) of current performance measurement practices in academia;(2) that scientists' behavior can be described as gaming performance measurement (i.e., achieving performance goals by reducing performance quality and focusing on those tasks that are measured); and (3) that gaming performance measurement shares the same characteristics as deviant workplace behavior (i.e., a voluntary violation of organizational norms that harms the university). We discuss that gaming performance measurement has not been considered as a type of deviant workplace behavior in the previous literature. Furthermore, we draw from research on deviant workplace behavior and goal setting to discuss psychological processes that may underlie gaming performance measurement. Our results indicate the importance of connecting literature on deviant workplace behavior and goal setting to advance our understanding of gaming performance measurement.

How Do Companies Respond to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings? Evidence from Italy

“…In common with similar forms of externally imposed organisational evaluations (e.g. Graf et al 2019), we therefore show that ESG ratings may lead organisations to gaming-type behaviour.…”

“…Work in other domains has documented how performance measurement may even lead to unethical behaviour as actors find ways of manipulating evaluations (e.g. Graf et al 2019). To the extent that some firms in our sample appear to have gamed ratings, such observations receive a degree of endorsement.…”

The gaming of performance management systems in British universities

“…While this approach to rewarding or punishing performance does not excuse gaming, it provides a logical explanation as to why some academics may engage in gaming. Graf et al (2019) argued that gaming occurs because PM systems reward academics for meeting performance targets but do not reward them for engaging in ethical conduct.…”

“…Like other qualitative studies (e.g. Graf et al, 2019), our research is not best suited to determine precisely how much gaming behaviour is taking place or the extent to which it is attributable to organisational factors versus individual factors. Future research could use other methodologies to assess the scale of gaming such as anonymous questionnaire designs and quantitatively examine causal relations between organisational and individual factors and their links to gaming behaviours.…”

Deviance due to fear of victimization: “emotional intelligence” a game-changer

“…Authors have claimed that deviant behavior is an adaptation to the working environment (Dalal, 2005; Graf et al , 2017). The first contribution extends this important line of investigation by demonstrating how the perceived threat of terrorism due to regular contact with a delicate environment influences the incidence of production deviance.…”