Organizational commitment

Marketing

Organizational behavior and human resources

Context (archaeology)

Premise

Philosophy

Biology

Actuarial science

Social psychology

Variety (cybernetics)

Organization development

Organizational behavior

Organizational effectiveness

Set (abstract data type)

Computer science

Empirical evidence

Business

Empirical research

Paleontology

Organizational performance

Psychology

Epistemology

Artificial intelligence

Organizational studies

Programming language

Knowledge management

Empirical examination

Organizational learning

International Journal of Management Reviews

The existence of definite organizational goals is a longstanding and central premise in organization and management research, yet a re‐examination of this body of knowledge is timely and long overdue. Many important aspects of organizational goals have received very fragmented attention, and there has been little prior attempt to synthesize and compare the effects of these different goals on firm behavior and performance. The authors present a review of existing theoretical and empirical evidence on organizational goals, and develop an analytical framework emphasizing the variety of organizational goals, their attributes, antecedents and outcomes, the role of context and feedback loops. Drawing on this framework, the authors set out an agenda for further research aimed at advancing current understanding of organizational goals and implications for firm behavior and performance.

Organizational Goals: Antecedents, Formation Processes and Implications for Firm Behavior and Performance