UNDERSTANDING SELF-OTHER AGREEMENT: A LOOK AT RATER AND RATEE CHARACTERISTICS, CONTEXT, AND OUTCOMES

This study investigated (a) the relative importance of a number of biographic (e.g., age, race, gender) and contextual (e.g., span of control, functional area) variables and their interactions on self‐other agreement and (b) the relationship between self‐other agreement and outcome variables such as performance and compensation. Usable data were collected from 3,217 managers and their multi‐source raters in 527 organizations. Multivariate regression procedures (as opposed to categorization procedures) were used to determine the sources of rating disagreement. Results indicated that a significant portion of variance in self‐other ratings was accounted for by the set of background/context variables. Self‐other agreement was also related to performance, compensation, and organizational level, though rating patterns differed.