The Paradox of Stretch Goals: Organizations in Pursuit of the Seemingly Impossible.

Abstract

We investigate the organizational pursuit of seemingly impossible goals-commonly known as stretch goals. Building from our analysis of the mechanisms through which stretch goals could influence organizational learning and performance, we offer a contingency framework evaluating which organizations are positioned to benefit from such extreme goals and which are most likely to pursue them. We conclude that stretch goals are, paradoxically, most seductive for organizations that can least afford the risks associated with them.

Predicting retail shrink from performance pressure, ethical leader behavior, and store‐level incivility

“…To understand the contextual factors influencing dysfunctional behavior in stores, we first look to the impact of performance pressure on employees. Research on performance pressure has found that it acts as a double-edged sword in that it can motivate employees to perform well (Gardner, 2012a) and be more creative (Rousseau, 1997;Sitkin, See, Miller, Lawless, & Carton, 2011) while also increasing stress and sub-optimal knowledge sharing (Gardner, 2012a) and poor ethical decision making (Malhotra, Ku, & Murnighan, 2008;Mumford et al, 2006).…”

All Things Great and Small: Organizational Size, Boundaries of the Firm, and a Changing Environment

“…Firms with slack tend to increase R&D intensity (Chen & Miller, 2007) and product exploration (Voss, Sirdeshmukh, & Voss, 2008). Additionally, these firms seek to improve the likelihood of discovering radically novel solutions through stretch goals (Sitkin, See, Miller, Lawless, & Carton, 2011). However, "too much slack is inimical to innovation because it breeds complacency and a lack of discipline that makes it possible that more bad projects will be pursued than good" (Nohria & Gulati, 1996: 1260.…”

Punctuated incongruity: A new approach to managing trade-offs between conformity and deviation

“…Scholars have argued that desperation and hypervigilance are particularly likely when outcome systems mandate ''stretch'' goals of extreme difficulty and novelty (Sitkin, See, Miller, Lawless, & Carton, 2011). Sitkin and colleagues predicted that desperate employees would engage in ''chaotic change'' initiatives rather than systematic and controlled experimentation-and such chaotic change would make it nearly impossible for employees to obtain clear feedback necessary for learning.…”