The Relationship between Performance Appraisal and Psychological Contract: Three Generations of U.S. Hotel Employees

Abstract

This study aims to explore the relationship between performance appraisal and psychological contract from the perspective of U.S. hotel employees, as perceived by different generational cohorts. Specifically, this research seeks to investigate the effect of generational cohort on the relationship between performance appraisal and psychological contract. Additionally, this research examines whether differences exist employee’s performance appraisals and psychological contract based on their generational cohorts. This study employs descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation, ANCOVA, and ANOVA to answer the research questions. Overall, the findings of the study reveal that performance appraisal is positively associated with employees’ psychological contract, which is vital for hotels to consider when designing performance appraisal systems. Surprisingly, there were no differences regarding psychological contract and the aspects of performance appraisal, except satisfaction, based on the generational groups. This research contributes to filling a literature gap in current hospitality industry research by investigating this issue, and provides implications for both academia and practice.