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.