Effect of perceived conflict among multiple performance goals and goal difficulty on task performance

Abstract

Contemporary performance measurement systems, such as the balanced scorecard, often advocate the use of an array of financial and non-financial measures. Despite many claimed advantages for these systems, recent research shows that the inclusion of multiple performance measures sometimes has undesirable effects. The present study examines one of the potential problems of implementing these systems; namely, the impact of perceived goal conflict on task performance. Using survey data from employees working in multiple call centres in a telecommunication company, we find that perceived goal difficulty increases perceived goal conflict. Additionally, perceived goal difficulty also has a negative, indirect effect of task performance, through the mediating role of perceived goal conflict. Our results have important implications for both the research literature and the designers of performance measurement systems. Copyright (c) The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2007 AFAANZ.

Contemporary performance measurement systems: A review of their consequences and a framework for research

“…Today, contemporary performance measurement (CPM) comprises the use of financial as well as non-financial performance measures linked to the organization's business strategy. For instance, balanced scorecards (BSC) (Kaplan and Norton, 2001) and multi-criteria key performance indicators (KPI) can be considered CPM systems (Cheng et al, 2007;Hall, 2008). The adoption of this type of system has increased steadily in the last two decades (Rigby and Bilodeau, 2009).…”

“…Researchers have used an array of research methods, such as case study research (e.g., Bititci et al, 2006;Kolehmainen, 2010), survey research (e.g., Burney and Widener, 2007;Cheng et al, 2007;De Waal et al, 2009), quasi-experimental research (e.g., Davis and Albright, 2004;Griffith and Neely, 2009), and experimental research (e.g., Salterio, 2000, 2002;Tayler, 2010). Researchers have focused on different levels of analysis.…”

Determinants of voluntary CSR disclosure: empirical evidence from Germany

“…Table 4 shows the Pearson correlations for the disclosure indexes, the independent variables, and the control variables. The correlations between the independent variables provide no indication of multicollinearity, as no bivariate correlation exceeds the value of 0.9 (Cheng et al 2007;Farrar and Glauber 1967;Hair et al 2010;Peng and Beamish 2008;Roberts 1992). 14 13 Over the same period, the average number of pages in the analyzed reports increased from 160 in 2006 to 204 in 2009 (per company-year observation).…”

A behavioural perspective on the effects of using performance measurement systems in the companies: Evidence from a case study

“…Another consequence of PMS on people's behaviours that the literature emphasizes is the goal conflict and consequently tensions that this may create (Cheng, Luckett & Mahama 2007). For instance, the levels of goal conflict and tension increase in cases where performance is visible to everyone, workload is higher and multiple tasks are perceived as difficult.…”