Regulatory focus as a mediator in goal orientation and performance relationships |
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| Authors: | Paul D Johnson Amanda Shull J Craig Wallace |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Global Management and Strategy, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina, U.S.A.;2. Department of Organization and Leadership, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, U.S.A.;3. Department of Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | Chosen goals influence the outcomes a person achieves as well as the behaviors performed to achieve those outcomes. In this study, we propose that three forms of goal orientation: learning, performance‐prove, and performance‐avoid, (VandeWalle, 1997 ) relate to performance, with learning and performance‐prove relating to performance through regulatory foci of prevention and promotion, respectively. Regulatory focus, a type of self‐regulation, entails the implementation of specific strategies in pursuit of goals and thus gives us insight to how a person pursues a chosen goal. In a combination of laboratory and field studies, we examine the role of regulatory focus as a mediator between goal orientation and task performance. We find evidence that regulatory focus strategies differentially mediate the goal orientation/task performance relationship. Theoretical ramifications for these relationships, as well as practical implications, are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Keywords: | regulatory focus goal orientation multiple mediation |
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