The effect of goal setting on group performance: a meta-analysis.

Updating and extending the work of O'Leary-Kelly, Martocchio, and Frink (1994), with this meta-analysis on goal setting and group performance we show that specific difficult goals yield considerably higher group performance compared with nonspecific goals (d = 0.80 ± 0.35, k = 23 effect sizes). Moderately difficult and easy goals were also associated with performance benefits relative to nonspecific goals, but these effects were smaller. The overall effect size for all group goals was d = 0.56 ± 0.19 (k = 49). Unexpectedly, task interdependence, task complexity, and participation did not moderate the effect of group goals. Our inventory of multilevel goals in interdependent groups indicated that the effect of individual goals in groups on group performance was contingent upon the focus of the goal: "Egocentric" individual goals, aimed at maximizing individual performance, yielded a particularly negative group-performance effect (d = -1.75 ± 0.60, k = 6), whereas "groupcentric" goals, aimed at maximizing the individual contribution to the group's performance, showed a positive effect (d = 1.20 ± 1.03, k = 4). These findings demonstrate that group goals have a robust effect on group performance. Individual goals can also promote group performance but should be used with caution in interdependent groups. Future research might explore the role of multilevel goals for group performance in more detail. The striking lack of recent field studies in organizational settings that emerged from our brief review of trends in group goal-setting research should be taken into account when designing future studies in this domain.

[1]  L. Hedges,et al.  Fixed- and random-effects models in meta-analysis. , 1998 .

[2]  Mary C. Kernan,et al.  Individual and Group Performance: Effects of Task Complexity and Information , 1994 .

[3]  J. Guthrie,et al.  Group Pay-For-Performance Plans: The Role of Spontaneous Goal Setting , 2000 .

[4]  Edwin A. Locke,et al.  The Relationship of Team Goals, Incentives, and Efficacy to Strategic Risk, Tactical Implementation, and Performance , 2001 .

[5]  H. Klein,et al.  Two Investigations of the Relationships among Group Goals, Goal Commitment, Cohesion, and Performance , 1995 .

[6]  Laurie R. Weingart,et al.  Processes That Mediate the Relationship Between a Group Goal and Group Member Performance , 1991 .

[7]  Gregory E. Prussia,et al.  A motivational investigation of group effectiveness using social-cognitive theory. , 1996 .

[8]  D. Crown.  Effects of Structurally Competitive Multilevel Goals for an Interdependent Task , 2007 .

[9]  Beth Sulzer-Azaroff,et al.  Occupational Safety:: Assessing the Impact of Adding Assigned or Participative Goal-Setting , 1985 .

[10]  R. Wood.  Task complexity: Definition of the construct , 1986 .

[11]  D. Tjosvold,et al.  Interdependence and Controversy in Group Decision Making: Antecedents to Effective Self-Managing Teams. , 1998, Organizational behavior and human decision processes.

[12]  Philip M. Podsakoff,et al.  Effects of Feedback Sign on Group Goal Setting, Strategies, and Performance , 1994 .

[13]  Bernhard Wilpert,et al.  Applied psychology : an international review , 1989 .

[14]  James M. Johnston,et al.  IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF A FEEDBACK SYSTEM FOR EMPLOYEES IN A SALVAGE OPERATION , 1978 .

[15]  John A. Wagner,et al.  Participation's Effects On Performance and Satisfaction: A Reconsideration Of Research Evidence , 1994 .

[16]  M. Mumford,et al.  Leadership skills and the group performance: Situational demands, behavioral requirements, and planning , 2005 .

[17]  Harrie van Tuijl,et al.  Task complexity and task, goal, and reward interdependence in group performance management: A prescriptive model , 2002 .

[18]  R. Liden,et al.  Task Interdependence as a Moderator of the Relation Between Group Control and Performance , 1997 .

[19]  E. A. Locke,et al.  Separating the effects of goal specificity from goal level , 1989 .

[20]  T. Mitchell,et al.  Individual and group goals when workers are interdependent: Effects on task strategies and performance. , 1990 .

[21]  Cary L. Cooper,et al.  Industrial and organizational psychology : linking theory with practice , 2000 .

[22]  Dean Tjosvold,et al.  Teamwork and controversy in undergraduate management courses in Hong Kong: Can the method reinforce the message? , 2002 .

[23]  H. van Mierlo,et al.  Goals, Strategies, and Group Performance: Some Limits of Goal Setting in Groups , 2010 .

[24]  E. A. Locke,et al.  Generalizing From Laboratory to Field Settings. , 1987 .

[25]  F. Heller.  Managerial Decision-making , 1971 .

[26]  Edwin A. Locke,et al.  Effects of Leader Role, Team-Set Goal Difficulty, Efficacy, and Tactics on Team Effectiveness , 1997 .

[27]  J. Finch,et al.  Competitiveness mediates the link between personality and group performance. , 1997, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[28]  Joseph G. Rosse,et al.  Yours, Mine, and Ours: Facilitating Group Productivity through the Integration of Individual and Group Goals , 1995 .

[29]  Steve H. Barr,et al.  Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes the Impact of Perceived Loafing and Collective Efficacy on Group Goal Processes and Group Performance , 2022 .

[30]  Charles R. Gowen.  Managing Work Group Performance by Individual Goals and Group Goals for an Interdependent Group Task , 1985 .

[31]  W. A. Meinhart.  Group Effectiveness in Organizations , 1981 .

[32]  E. Weldon,et al.  Processes that mediate the relationship between a group goal and improved group performance. , 1991, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[33]  D. Crown,et al.  The Use of Group and Groupcentric Individual Goals for Culturally Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Task Groups , 2007 .

[34]  C. Dreu.  Cooperative outcome interdependence, task reflexivity, and team effectiveness: a motivated information processing perspective. , 2007 .

[35]  D. Tjosvold,et al.  Goal Interdependence and Applying Abilities for Team In-Role and Extra-Role Performance in China. , 2004 .

[36]  Edwin A. Locke,et al.  Resolving scientific disputes by the joint design of crucial experiments by the antagonists: Application to the Erez–Latham dispute regarding participation in goal setting. , 1988 .

[37]  J. Komaki,et al.  A behavioral approach to occupational safety: pinpointing and reinforcing safe performance in a food manufacturing plant. , 1978, The Journal of applied psychology.

[38]  C. Dreu,et al.  OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE BY CONFLICT STIMULATION , 1994 .

[39]  Abraham Sagie,et al.  Participative Decision Making and Performance: A Moderator Analysis , 1994 .

[40]  Patricia M. Fandt,et al.  The Impact of Goal Setting on Team Simulation Experience , 1990 .

[41]  S. Sonnentag.  Psychological Management of Individual Performance : A Handbook in the Psychology of Management in Organizations , 2002 .

[42]  R. Zajonc,et al.  The Effect of Two Methods of varying Group Task Difficulty on Individual and Group Performance , 1963 .

[43]  S. Bray,et al.  Collective Efficacy, Group Goals, and Group Performance of a Muscular Endurance Task , 2004 .

[44]  David W. Johnson,et al.  Impact of Goal and Resource Interdependence on Problem-Solving Success , 1989 .

[45]  T. Ludwig,et al.  Improving Anesthesia Nurse Compliance with Universal Precautions Using Group Goals and Public Feedback , 2005 .

[46]  Michael McCarthy,et al.  DECREASING THE INCIDENCE OF "HIGH BOBBINS" IN A TEXTILE SPINNING DEPARTMENT THROUGH A GROUP FEEDBACK PROCEDURE , 1978 .

[47]  Verlin B. Hinsz,et al.  Positive Reactions to Working in Groups in a Study of Group and Individual Goal Decision Making. , 2004 .

[48]  J. Báumler,et al.  Defined Criteria of Performance in Organizational Control. , 1971 .

[49]  K. A. Brown,et al.  Impact of material flow policies and goals on job outcomes , 1996 .

[50]  V. Wekselberg,et al.  A Multifaceted Concept of Group Maturity and Its Measurement and Relationship to Group Performance , 1997 .

[51]  Terence R. Mitchell,et al.  Motivation and Participation: An Integration , 1973 .

[52]  Edwin A. Locke,et al.  The High Performance Cycle: Standing the Test of Time , 2005 .

[53]  J. Colquitt,et al.  KNOWLEDGE WORKER TEAM EFFECTIVENESS: THE ROLE OF AUTONOMY, INTERDEPENDENCE, TEAM DEVELOPMENT, AND CONTEXTUAL SUPPORT VARIABLES , 1997 .

[54]  L. Hardy,et al.  Effects of different types of goals on processes that support performance. , 1997 .

[55]  Edwin A. Locke,et al.  Has Goal Setting Gone Wild, or Have Its Attackers Abandoned Good Scholarship? , 2009 .

[56]  Edwin A. Locke,et al.  Effects of Group Goals and Time Pressure on Group Efficacy, Information-Seeking Strategy, and Performance , 2000 .

[57]  Michael Ahearne,et al.  Moderating Effects of Goal Acceptance on the Relationship between Group Cohesiveness and Productivity , 1997 .

[58]  P. C. Smith,et al.  Group decision and employee participation. , 1955 .

[59]  D. Tjosvold,et al.  BUDGET TEAM GOALS AND PERFORMANCE ANTECEDENT AND MEDIATING EFFECTS , 2004 .

[60]  B. Emans,et al.  Motivating Effects of Task and Outcome Interdependence in Work Teams , 1998 .

[61]  Edwin A. Locke,et al.  Goal setting, planning, and organizational performance: An experimental simulation , 1990 .

[62]  K. R. Milner,et al.  A multiple-goal, multilevel model of feedback effects on the regulation of individual and team performance. , 2004, The Journal of applied psychology.

[63]  Conny H. Antoni.  Management by objectives – an effective tool for teamwork? , 2005 .

[64]  P. Buller.  Long term performance effects of goal setting and team building interventions in an underground silver mine. , 1988 .

[65]  Robert A. Reber,et al.  The Effects of Training, Goal Setting, and Knowledge of Results on Safe Behavior: a Component Analysis. , 1984 .

[66]  R. Saavedra,et al.  Complex interdependence in task-performing groups , 1993 .

[67]  Gerald D Emmert,et al.  MEASURING THE IMPACT OF GROUP PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK VERSUS INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK IN AN INDUSTRIAL SETTING , 1978 .

[68]  G Hertel,et al.  Motivation gains in performance groups: paradigmatic and theoretical developments on the Köhler effect. , 2000, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[69]  Lisa M. Bradley,et al.  Differential Effects of Task and Reward Interdependence on Perceived Helping Behavior, Effort, and Group Performance , 2003 .

[70]  N. Allen,et al.  Group beliefs, ability, and performance: The potency of group potency. , 2002 .

[71]  John A. Wagner,et al.  Shared influence and organizational behavior: A meta-analysis of situational variables expected to moderate participation-outcome relationships. , 1987 .

[72]  W. Clay Hamner,et al.  Effect of Performance Feedback and Goal Setting on Productivity and Satisfaction in an Organizational Setting. , 1976 .

[73]  David W. Johnson,et al.  The impact of positive goal and resource interdependence on achievement, interaction, and attitudes , 1991 .

[74]  Henry L. Tosi.  A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance , 1991 .

[75]  James Guthrie,et al.  Group Incentives and Performance: A Study of Spontaneous Goal Setting, Goal Choice and Commitment , 2004 .

[76]  Tamao Matsui,et al.  Effects of goals and feedback on performance in groups. , 1987 .

[77]  Kristina Whitney,et al.  Improving group task performance: The role of group goals and group efficacy. , 1994 .

[78]  K. Praveen Parboteeah,et al.  Goal Setting And Team Performance In Innovative Projects: , 2003 .

[79]  Pam Ad Kleingeld,et al.  Interdependence and fit in team performance management , 2006 .

[80]  Jason D. Shaw,et al.  Interdependence and Preference for Group Work: Main and Congruence Effects on the Satisfaction and Performance of Group Members , 2000 .

[81]  F. Schmidt.  Meta-Analysis , 2008 .

[82]  K. Harlow.  Effect of Knowledge of One Correct Choice on Group Performance , 1989 .

[83]  A. Stedry,et al.  The effects of goal difficulty on performance: a field experiment. , 2011, Behavioral science.

[84]  J. R. Larson,et al.  Group Goals, Group Coordination, and Group Member Motivation , 1993 .

[85]  Elizabeth Weldon,et al.  The Effects of Proximal and Distal Goals on Strategy Development and Group Performance , 1998 .

[86]  H. Klein,et al.  Emergent Leadership in the Group Goal-Setting Process , 1995 .

[87]  J. Bliss,et al.  The Effects of Leadership Style and Primary Task Workload on Team Performance and Follower Satisfaction. , 2003 .

[88]  James L. Koch,et al.  Effects of Goal Specificity and Performance Feedback to Work Groups on Peer Leadership, Performance, and Attitudes , 1979 .

[89]  E. A. Locke,et al.  A theory of goal setting & task performance , 1990 .

[90]  Gary P. Latham,et al.  Assigned versus participative goal setting with educated and uneducated woods workers. , 1975 .

[91]  Steven D. Jones,et al.  Effects of group feedback, goal setting, and incentives on organizational productivity. , 1988 .

[92]  P. Buller,et al.  Effects of Team Building and Goal Setting on Productivity: A Field Experiment , 1986 .

[93]  Juergen Wegge,et al.  Participation in Group Goal Setting: Some Novel Findings and a Comprehensive Model as a New Ending to an Old Story , 2000 .

[94]  D. Knippenberg,et al.  How a Group Goal May Reduce Social Matching in Group Performance: Shifts in Standards for Determining a Fair Contribution of Effort , 2002 .

[95]  T. Postmes,et al.  Are we on a learning curve or a treadmill? The benefits of participative group goal setting become apparent as tasks become increasingly challenging over time , 2009 .

[96]  Janice R. Kelly,et al.  Effects of time limits and task types on task performance and interaction of four-person groups. , 1985 .

[97]  Gary P. Latham,et al.  IMPROVING JOB PERFORMANCE THROUGH TRAINING IN GOAL SETTING , 1974 .

[98]  E. Lee,et al.  The relationship between goal setting, self-efficacy, and female field hockey team performance. , 1989 .

[99]  E. A. Locke,et al.  Task complexity as a moderator of goal effects: A meta-analysis. , 1987 .

[100]  Abraham Sagie,et al.  Effects of Leader's Communication Style and Participative Goal Setting on Performance and Attitudes , 1996 .

[101]  Barbara A. Ribbens,et al.  The Effects of Intergroup Competition and Assigned Group Goals on Group Efficacy and Group Effectiveness , 1999 .

[102]  D. Tjosvold,et al.  Effects of Team Goal Interdependence on Newcomer Socialization: An Experiment in China , 2007 .

[103]  Scott D. Johnson,et al.  The Effects of Group versus Individual Goal Setting on Bowling Performance , 1997 .

[104]  Dwight D. Frink,et al.  A Review of the Influence of Group Goals on Group Performance , 1994 .

[105]  L. Weingart.  Impact of group goals, task component complexity, effort, and planning on group performance , 1992 .

[106]  S. Kozlowski,et al.  Work Groups and Teams in Organizations , 2003 .

[107]  Narda R. Quigley.  The relationship between leader core self-evaluations, team feedback, leader efficacy, transformational leadership, team efficacy, team goals, team action and transition processes, and team performance , 2003 .

[108]  Barbara J Rowe.  USE OF FEEDBACK AND REINFORCEMENT TO INCREASE THE TELEPHONE REPORTING OF INDEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE APPRAISERS , 1981 .

[109]  G. Bloom,et al.  A season-long team-building intervention: examining the effect of team goal setting on cohesion. , 2008, Journal of sport & exercise psychology.

[110]  Jürgen Wegge,et al.  Goal setting via videoconferencing , 2007 .

[111]  L. Mann,et al.  A Field Experiment on the Effects of Benchmarking and Goal Setting on Company Sales Performance , 1998 .

[112]  C. Pearson.  Participative Goal Setting as a Strategy for Improving Performance and Job Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Evaluation with Railway Track Maintenance Gangs , 1987 .

[113]  Edwin A. Locke,et al.  Cognitive and motivational frameworks in U.S. research on participation: A meta-analysis of primary effects , 1997 .

[114]  William S. Silver,et al.  The Impact of Group Efficacy and Group Goals on Group Task Performance , 1996 .

[115]  Guido Hertel,et al.  Managing distance by interdependence: Goal setting, task interdependence, and team-based rewards in virtual teams , 2004 .

[116]  Gary P. Latham,et al.  Effects of goal setting and supervision on worker behavior in an industrial situation. , 1973 .

[117]  Charles R. Crowell,et al.  Performance posting, goal setting, and activity-contingent praise as applied to a university hockey team. , 1988 .

[118]  Pracheta Mukherjee.  Progress in Asian Social Psychology: Conceptual and Empirical Contributions , 2003 .

[119]  M. D. Dunnette.  Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology , 2005 .

[120]  L. Weingart,et al.  Group goals and group performance , 1993 .

[121]  Dean Tjosvold,et al.  Cooperative Goals, Leader People and Productivity Values: Their Contribution to Top Management Teams in China , 2006 .

[122]  A. V. D. Ven,et al.  Determinants of Coordination Modes within Organizations , 1976 .

[123]  Verlin B. Hinsz,et al.  Goal Setting by Groups Performing an Additive Task: A Comparison With Individual Goal Setting1 , 1995 .

[124]  S. Alexander Haslam,et al.  Improving work motivation and performance in brainstorming groups: The effects of three group goal-setting strategies , 2005 .

[125]  L. Frederiksen,et al.  ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT , 1981 .

[126]  R. Wageman.  Interdependence and Group Effectiveness , 1995 .

[127]  H. Klein,et al.  Perception in Consequences of Free Riding , 2002, Psychological reports.

[128]  Julio Sánchez-Meca,et al.  Weighting by Inverse Variance or by Sample Size in Random-Effects Meta-Analysis , 2010 .

[129]  Gerard H. Seijts,et al.  The effects of goal setting and group size on performance in a social dilemma. , 2000 .

[130]  M. Schweitzer,et al.  Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Overprescribing Goal Setting , 2009 .

[131]  L. J. Becker.  Joint effect of feedback and goal setting on performance: a field study of residential energy conservation , 1978 .