Abstract: The use of shadow IT (information technology systems not sanctioned or monitored by a company’s IT department) may be seen as either a form of organizational misbehavior or proactive and creative problem-solving. We examine whether these differing possible perceptions have implications for the subjective evaluation of subordinate performance. In our experiment, participants choose whether to award a bonus to an employee when different IT systems are used (normal vs. shadow IT) across different outcome levels (high vs. low outcomes). We find that employees using shadow IT are less likely to receive the bonus in both high and low outcome conditions relative to employees using the normal IT system. Our results suggest that shadow IT usage is more likely to be viewed as organizational misbehavior and to cast a negative light on employee performance
