Professional Performance and Bureaucratic Benchmarking Information

Prior research documents positive effects of benchmarking information provision on performance and attributes this to social comparisons. However, the effects on professional recipients are unclear. Studies of professional control indicate that professional recipients often resist bureaucratic controls because of organizational-professional conflicts. We therefore analyze the association between bureaucratic benchmarking information provision and professional performance and suggest that the association is more positive if prior professional performance was low. We test our hypotheses based on archival, publicly disclosed, professional performance data for 191 German orthopedics departments, matched with survey data on bureaucratic benchmarking information given to chief orthopedists by the administration. We find a positive association between bureaucratic benchmarking information provision and professional performance but only if prior professional performance was low. Supplemental analyses support the robustness of our results. Findings indicate conditions under which bureaucratic benchmarking information may affect professional performance and advance research on professional control and social comparisons.