Linking self-assessment to the external environment

Self-assessment is increasingly prevalent in many organizations. Although managers perceive self-assessment as internally driven, the well-known link between organizational activities and the external environment suggests that outside forces play a significant role. This investigation explores the external motivators of self-assessment through a field study of 14 organizations. Five factors were found to link the conduct of self-assessment to the external environment: availability of an externally developed or sponsored model, presence of a boundary spanning individual, affiliation with professional and trade associations, pressure from powerful external entities, and potential for external reward or recognition. These findings suggest that self-assessment is driven significantly by forces external to the organization. How these external factors combine to form the context of self-assessment may affect the outcomes of the project.