The study was conducted in 54 profit centers at 12 firms. The findings are not statistically generalizable, but they are not intended to be so. MM did not attempt to specify the nature of the relation between achievability levels in budget targets and factors such as industry type, size, customer base, etc. Rather, they documented the rationale behind higher levels of ex ante achievability than those prescribed in the accounting literature. Through semi-structured interviews with 203 managers they developed an understanding of the motivations for actual levels of achievability among both profit center managers and top managers. They offer empirical insights into the relationships defined in extant theory between goal difficulty (the likelihood of target achievement), goal commitment (the motivation to meet targets), and incentives (the managers' rationales for setting achievable targets), in settings characterized by high levels of uncertainty and task complexity. For example, they suggest that both profit center managers and senior executives are motivated to establish highly achievable profit center targets, but for different reasons. Profit center managers focus on maximizing their bonuses, protecting their credibility, and obtaining slack resources. Senior executives are concerned with increasing the predictability of corporate earnings, protecting against excess consumption of resources (ambitious profit-center targets often require high up-front resource consumption), and maintaining commitment to the organization's goals.