Abstract

Until now, the effects on behavior of performance control – in conceptual terms, the lynchpin of current administration reforms – have been largely passed over by research on public administration. Transferable studies in organizational research confirm that performance measurement and evaluation have a negative effect on behavioral modes, which, although they are not acknowledged in the formal incentive system of the organization, nevertheless contribute to the effective and efficient functioning of the organization (extra role behavior). In this article we examine how, with respect to reform processes and goals, this undesirable effect can be compensated by fostering an environment in which the system is perceived to be just. We focus on identifying the conditions which a performance control system must fulfill, in order to be perceived by the members of the organization as fair. We distinguish three fairness dimensions (distributive, procedural, interactional) and debate whether and to what extent the public administration environment allows realization of fairness perception in performance control. Our results show that there are specific challenges in all three of these dimensions: These challenges must be tackled with sophisticated devices. In spite of this finding, however, performance control, as compared to conventional input and process control, is, in general, a potential motor of progress on the fairness front, provided formal performance measurement and evaluation are not implemented as a substitute but as a supplement for personal leadership.