Participative Goal Setting as a Strategy for Improving Performance and Job Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Evaluation with Railway Track Maintenance Gangs

Abstract

A longitudinal field experiment of job change was conducted over a 1-year period with 42 geographically dispersed railway track maintenance gangs. Experimental groups that employed participative goal setting were compared with a control unit that continued to employ the traditional work procedures. When perceptual, behavioral and affective responses were evaluated, over eight trials, it was determined that there were significantly different responses between the experimental and control groups. Those incumbents who were engaged in participative goal setting reported higher perceived states of involvement in decision making and greater job satisfaction. It was also observed that goal setting and performance were positively related. The implications for these findings are discussed.