Self‐other Agreement: Does It Really Matter?

A current controversy in the self‐other rating and 360‐degree feedback literature is the extent to which self‐other agreement (and lack of agreement) has an impact on individual and organizational outcomes. Using a large sample and a multi‐source data set, the current study addressed some methodological limitations of prior research. Results from polynomial regression analyses demonstrated that both self‐ and other ratings are related to performance outcomes. This procedure revealed the underlying three‐dimensional relationship between self‐ratings, other ratings, and effectiveness. Findings indicate that the relationship between self‐ratings, other ratings and outcomes are somewhat more complex than previous conceptualizations in this area. Simultaneous consideration of both self‐ and other ratings in terms of the direction and magnitude of self‐ and other ratings is important for explaining effectiveness outcomes.