Gender-specific preferences in global performance management - an empirical study of male and female leaders in a multinational context

Abstract

This study investigates gender-specific preferences in one important human resource management (HRM) practice—namely, global performance management (GPM). GPM has major consequences for the career advancement of women and can therefore also represent a barrier if it is rooted in traditional male corporate cultures. As prior research suggests that the underrepresentation of women in top management positions is a worldwide phenomenon with only minor national variations, empirical data were collected in five countries belonging to various cultural clusters: China, France, Germany, South Africa, and the United States. For all countries, the results show that preferences vary significantly between male and female managers for crucial parts of the GPM system (actors’ roles, evaluation methods, feedback procedures, and GPM purposes). This study confirms that the preferences of female managers do not match more male-oriented GPM practices, indicating that female managers are less satisfied with existing GPM procedures. It was particularly surprising to find that these gender differences do not vary according to cultural background, but rather display the same pattern in all investigated countries. These findings not only have the potential to explain the often-limited career advancement of women, but also have major implications for multinational companies aiming to retain talented women.