TY - JOUR
T1 - Goal Clarity, Task Significance, and Performance
T2 - Evidence from a Laboratory Experiment
AU - Anderson, Derrick
AU - Stritch, Justin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/4/1
Y1 - 2016/4/1
N2 - This article examines the relationships among task goal clarity, task significance, and individual-level task performance. While both goals and task significance are important in extant public-management research, a theoretical integration of the variables is needed. This study makes the theoretical contribution of explaining how these variables might work together in a public organization. In addition to examining the relationship between task goal clarity and performance, we consider how task significance might condition the relationship. There are theoretical reasons to suggest both a positive and negative conditional effect. Utilizing a 3×2 factorial design, we conducted a laboratory experiment on 214 subjects participating in a task-performance exercise. This study provides experimental evidence that task goal clarity is positively related to performance. However, an interesting relationship emerges with respect to the conditional effect of task significance. When an individual is primed to believe their performance has a higher level of task significance, the evidence suggests that this will decrease their level of performance. The findings provide significant nuance to our understanding of both task goal clarity and performance, as well as our understanding of the relationship between task significance and performance.
AB - This article examines the relationships among task goal clarity, task significance, and individual-level task performance. While both goals and task significance are important in extant public-management research, a theoretical integration of the variables is needed. This study makes the theoretical contribution of explaining how these variables might work together in a public organization. In addition to examining the relationship between task goal clarity and performance, we consider how task significance might condition the relationship. There are theoretical reasons to suggest both a positive and negative conditional effect. Utilizing a 3×2 factorial design, we conducted a laboratory experiment on 214 subjects participating in a task-performance exercise. This study provides experimental evidence that task goal clarity is positively related to performance. However, an interesting relationship emerges with respect to the conditional effect of task significance. When an individual is primed to believe their performance has a higher level of task significance, the evidence suggests that this will decrease their level of performance. The findings provide significant nuance to our understanding of both task goal clarity and performance, as well as our understanding of the relationship between task significance and performance.
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U2 - 10.1093/jopart/muv019
DO - 10.1093/jopart/muv019
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84964671193
SN - 1053-1858
VL - 26
SP - 211
EP - 225
JO - Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory
JF - Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory
IS - 2
ER -