When Multi-Raters Compete

Multi-rater performance evaluation is a contemporary management control practice that promises more informative performance evaluations. However, we have yet to understand whether such systems can also pose problems related to different groups of employees. For this purpose, I collaborate with a European e-commerce company to examine strategic behavior in multi-rater systems, focusing on situations in which employees function as multi-raters and compete for monetary rewards. I focus on understanding gender differences in both mutual rating relationships and strategic rating behaviors, that is, strategic downvoting to improve individual standing and reciprocal ratings for mutual benefit. Results from multivariate regressions indicate that female employees, compared to male employees, are 33.6% less likely to engage in mutual rating relationships when they compete with the respective multi-rater for rewards. At the same time, in mutual rating relationships, female employees are more likely to provide lower-than-average ratings, consistent with strategic downvoting behavior. In comparison, their male counterparts provide higher-than-average ratings, consistent with reciprocal rating behavior. These findings highlight important challenges related to multi-rater performance evaluation and help explain gender differences in career advancement.