Participation's effect on task performance: Mediating roles of goal acceptance and procedural justice

Drawing on goal setting and procedural justice theories, a model of the mediating roles of goal acceptance and procedural justice perceptions was developed and tested with a two-step approach to structural equation modelling. The sample included 200 employees who participated in a two-year goal-setting program used by one organization located in the southeastern United Slates. Results indicated that participation was not directly associated with task performance but was indirectly and positively related to task performance through goal acceptance. Results also indicated that participation was related positively to procedural justice perceptions of the goal-setting program; however, procedural justice perceptions regarding the goal-setting program were unrelated to task performance. The discussion centers why goal acceptance and not procedural justice mediated the participation-tash performance relationship and on the theoretical and practical implications of the findings. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science inc.