Comparative analysis of goal-setting strategies across cultures

Abstract

Only a few studies that have examined the effects of participation on an individual's goal acceptance and performance have been conducted within a cross-cultural context. In the present study, we tested for the contingency between the effectiveness of goal-setting strategies and cultural values. We examined three goal-setting strategies within three different cultural groups—assigned goals, goals participatively set by a group representative and the experimenter, and goals participatively set by a group. The three cultural groups studied were U.S. students ( n = 60), individualistic and having a high power distance; Israeli students from urban areas ( n = 60), collectivistic and having a low power distance; and Israeli students from kibbutzim ( n = 60), highly collectivistic and having a low power distance. Results indicated that participative strategies led to higher levels of goal acceptance and performance than the assigned strategy. Culture did not moderate the effect of goal-setting strategies on goal acceptance, but it appeared to moderate the strategy on performance for extremely difficult goals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)