The present study empirically examined the relations among group efficacy, group goals, and group task performance. Groups of three students performed interdependent tasks and responded to efficacy and goal questionnaires. The results across two task trials demonstrated that group efficacy was correlated significantly and highly with group goals and subsequent task performance. Multiple regression analyses revealed that past performance, group efficacy, and group goals contributed jointly to 52% and 43% of the variance in subsequent group performance. The implications of these findings forfuture research, and for increasing group efficacy and group performance in organizations, are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
2.
Bar-Tal, D. (1990). Group beliefs. New York: Springer-Verlag.
3.
Dulany, D. E. (1968). Awareness, rules, and propositional control: A confrontation with S-R behavior theory. In D. Horton & T. Dixon (Eds.), Verbal behavior and general behavior theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
4.
Gist, M. E. (1987). Self-efficacy: Implications for organizational behavior and human resource management. Academy of Management Review, 12, 472-485.
5.
Gist, M. E. , & Mitchell, T. R. (1992). Self-efficacy: A theoretical analysis of its determinants and malleability. Academy of Management Review, 17, 183-211.
6.
Goodman, P. S. (1986). Impact of task and technology on group performance. In P. S. Goodman & Associates (Eds.), Designing effective work groups (pp. 120-167). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
7.
Goodman, P. S. , Ravlin, E., & Schminke, M. (1987). Understanding groups in organizations. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 9, pp. 121-173). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
8.
Guzzo, R. A. , Yost, P. R., Campbell, R. J., & Shea, G. P. (1993). Potency in groups: Articulating a construct. British Journal of Social Psychology, 32, 87-105.
9.
Hackman, J. R. (1990). Groups that work (and those that don't): Creating conditions for effective teamwork. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
10.
Hempel, C. G. (1952). Fundamentals of conceptformation in empirical science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
11.
Hollenbeck, J. R. , Klein, C. R., O'Leary, A. M., & Wright, P. M. (1989). Investigation of the construct validity of a self-report measure of goal conmmitment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74,951-956.
12.
Joyce, W. F. , & Slocum, J. W. (1984). Collective climate: Agreement as a basis for defining aggregate climates in organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 27, 721-742.
13.
Kolodny, H. F. , & Kiggundu, M. N. (1980). Toward the development of a sociotechnical systems model in woodlands mechanical harvesting. Human Relations, 33, 623-645.
14.
Locke, E. A. , & Latham, G. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
15.
Mitchell, T. R. , & Biglan, A. (1971). Instrumentality theories: Current uses in psychology. Psychological Bulletin, 76, 432-454.
16.
Rousseau, D. M. (1985). Issues of level in organizational research: Multi-level and crosslevel perspectives. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 7, pp. 1-37). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
17.
Shea, G. P. , & Guzzo, R. A. (1987a). Group effectiveness: What really matters?Sloan Management Review, 28, 25-31.
18.
Shea, G. P. , & Guzzo, R. A. (1987b). Groups as human resources. In K. M. Rowland & G. R. Ferris (Eds.), Research in personnel and human resources management (Vol. 5, pp. 323-356). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
19.
Spink, K. S. (1990). Group cohesion and collective efficacy of volleyball teams. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 12, 301-311.
20.
Weingart, L. R. , & Weldon, E. (1991). Processes that mediate the relationship between a group goal and group member perfonrance. Human Performance, 4, 33-54.
21.
Zander, A. (1971). Motives and goals in groups. New York: Academic Press.
22.
Zander, A. (1982). Making groups effective. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
23.
Zander, A. , & Medow, H. (1963). Individual and group levels of aspiration. Human Relations, 16, 89-105.
