Drawing on Adam Smith’s metaphor, wherein the pursuit of individual
self-interest stimulates the greater good through the social mechanism
of an “invisible hand” (Smith, 1776/2003), in these studies I examine
whether EPM functions as an “invisible eye” in aligning intraorganizational
interests and facilitating employee performance. Consistent with
predictions based on agency theory and social facilitation theory, EPM use
and task performance show positive associations, as revealed in Study 1.
Results indicate that as EPM is performed less frequently (i.e., more time
lapses between EPM assessments), employees perform more poorly. This
finding lends credence to Cottrell’s (1972) social comparison explanation
that evaluation apprehension may heighten employees’ drive levels. Put
simply, call center representatives, concerned about their performance