Perform or perish:Understanding the link between performance management systems and ethical behaviours

Though ethical behaviours have been studied in relation to individual characteristics as well as specific organisational dimensions, there is little research on how they are linked to HR systems such as performance management. Rewards and punishments are recognised as important in encouraging employee ethical behavior, however, the efficacy of the performance management system to fulfil this objective as the system responsible for disbursing rewards is under-examined. Moreover, most of the research within this area is dominated by positivist philosophies resulting in problems such as emphasis on individual agency and rational choice, overreliance on utilitarian ethics, and lack of a critical view of organisational systems and practices. We adopt an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing from sociology and management, to overcome these issues, and put forward a conceptual model that uncovers innovative and critical insights on the mechanism underlying the relationship between ethical behaviours and performance management systems