Effects of Reward Type on Goal Commitment
Goal theory predicts that once a goal is selected or assigned, it is more likely to have a positive effect on performance when individuals are committed to goal attainment (Locke and Latham 1990;Klein et al. 1999). Goal commitment is defined as ‘‘the determination to try for a goal’’ (Hollenbecket al. 1989, 18).Expectancy and goal theories identify two primary determinants of goalcommitment: expectancy, the perceived likelihood of achieving a goal, (Hollenbeck et al. 1989);and goal attractiveness, ‘‘the anticipated satisfaction from goal attainment’’ (Klein 1991, 238). Research shows that providing rewards for goal attainment can increase goal attractiveness, which in turn has a positive effect on commitment (Wright 1992). No studies that we are aware of have examined the effects of reward type on commitment.