Figure 1
Framework for the Emergence of Goal Orientation
and Its Influence on Organizational Learning
we begin with a description of how GO emerges from the individual to the group and to the organizational levels of analysis. This multilevel emergence of GO thus becomes the foundation of our theory, which we link to learning processes in subsequent sections. However, it is important to note that while we initially treat this emergence as a simple isomorphic process , we later include a discussion of contextual contingencies that can disrupt this process.
Emergence of Goal Orientation From the Individual to the Group Level
The conceptualization of GO at the individual level as a relatively stable motivational tendency has been widely addressed . Although GO has been conceptualized as a distinct group-level phenomenon that is, a group-level construct that influences group outcomes, group norms , and shared perceptions there has been less attention to explaining its nature and emergence. Therefore, we first describe the nature of GO at the group level and then introduce three mechanisms that we propose will lead individual GOS to emerge as a distinct collective construct: (a) social information processing, (b) social verification processes, and (c) attraction, selection, and attrition (ASA) processes.