Goal commitment and the goal-setting process: Conceptual clarification and empirical synthesis.

Klein, Howard J., Wesson, Michael J., Hollenbeck, John R., Alge, Bradley J.·1999·Journal of Applied Psychology

Abstract

Goals are central to current treatments of work motivation, and goal commitment is a critical construct in understanding the relationship between goals and task performance. Despite this importance, there is confusion about the role of goal commitment and only recently has this key construct received the empirical attention it warrants. This meta-analysis, based on 83 independent samples, updates the goal commitment literature by summarizing the accumulated evidence on the antecedents and consequences of goal commitment. Using this aggregate empirical evidence, the role of goal commitment in the goal-setting process is clarified and key areas for future research are identified.

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Cited by (14)

  1. Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey.
    Locke, Edwin A., Latham, Gary P. · 2002 · American Psychologist
  2. Gamification of task performance with leaderboards: A goal setting experiment
    Landers, Richard N., Bauer, Kristina N., Callan, Rachel C. · 2017 · Computers in Human Behavior
  3. LMX differentiation: A multilevel review and examination of its antecedents and outcomes
    Henderson, David J., Liden, Robert C., Glibkowski, Brian C., Chaudhry, Anjali · 2009 · The Leadership Quarterly
  4. Public Service and Motivation: Does Mission Matter?
    Wright, Bradley E. · 2007 · Public Administration Review
  5. Comparing meta-analytic moderator estimation techniques under realistic conditions.
    Steel, Piers D., Kammeyer-Mueller, John D. · 2002 · Journal of Applied Psychology

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Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.

This page
CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Goal commitment and the goal-setting process: Conceptual clarification and empirical synthesis. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1037//0021-9010.84.6.885
The paper
Klein, H. J., Wesson, M. J., Hollenbeck, J. R., & Alge, B. J. (1999). Goal commitment and the goal-setting process: Conceptual clarification and empirical synthesis. Journal of Applied Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.84.6.885

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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.