Goal orientation and organizational commitment : Individual difference predictors of job performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to paper examine goal orientation and organizational commitment in relation to employees' job attitudes and performance in a hospital. Specifically, it investigates the effects of mastery and performance goals on different facets of organizational commitment and how these effects impact individuals' job outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – The paper utilized an online survey to collect data from 497 hospital employees. The conceptual model was tested using a three‐step mediation procedure of structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimation. Findings – The results indicate that while mastery goal is related to the three components of organizational commitment, performance goal is only related to affective commitment. Although affective and normative commitment are both related to job satisfaction, only the former is linked to employees' performance. Research limitations/implications – The survey is conducted in an East Asian hospital. To ensure greater generalizability of the results, future research should be conducted using a broader Asian sample, preferably, in a different organizational setting, and using longitudinal methods in addition to online surveys. Practical implications – When managing employees with Asian backgrounds, establishing mastery goal orientation can potentially cultivate higher organizational commitment. Managers may consider aligning affectively and normatively committed employees with more complex job assignments because these employees typically exhibit desirable job attitudes and innovative job performance. Originality/value – The contributions are two‐fold: managerially and scholarly. Identifying employees' mindset in relation to goal orientation and commitment allows firms to effectively manage employees' performance. The paper also provides evidence for rethinking constructs' relevancy outside of North America.