Zeitschrift für Evaluation: Issue 2/2025, 24. Volume Organizational Theory and Functions of Evaluation

This article argues that evaluations take place in organizational contexts in differentiated and highly complex societies. In this respect, it is remarkable that the connection between evaluation and organizational theory has not been pursued more vigorously to date. This article therefore proposes that the evaluation functions need to be grounded in organizational theory, as the failure to take organizational theories into account may result in knowledge gaps. The result of these knowledge gaps is a limited and often normatively distorted understanding of the functions of evaluation in organizational contexts. In this way, evaluation functions developed from an internal perspective, such as the legitimacy function, knowledge function, etc., are supplemented by evaluation functions from a theoretically inspired external perspective, such as the standardization function or integration function. For evaluation practice, this results in multiple and, above all, non-judgemental perspectives on evaluation functions.

Keywords
Organization theory, evaluation function, organization, institutional, instrumental