EV-0024
A hard goal only works on someone who accepted it
Klein, H. J., Wesson, M. J., Hollenbeck, J. R., & Alge, B. J. (1999). Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(6), 885–896 · Source
What this entitles us to say
A meta-analysis of 83 independent samples establishing goal commitment as the construct that conditions the whole goal-setting effect — a difficult goal raises performance only to the degree the person is committed to it.
What it found
83 independent samples, synthesizing the antecedents and consequences of goal commitment and clarifying its role in the goal-setting process. The central place of the construct: goal commitment is what makes goal difficulty pay. The relationship between a difficult goal and performance is conditioned on whether the person is committed to that goal.
Why it matters here
This is the trait's mechanism, and it is the piece that turns the book's principle into something operational. Commitment means counting the cost and agreeing to pay the price — this literature is about the agreeing.
It also does something for the framework's structure. The Achievement region now has a chain with a research base at every link: Vision sets the direction (EV-0022), goals convert it into something specific and hard (EV-0023), commitment is what determines whether the goal is real (this entry), and discipline is the daily governing that gets there.
The practical instruction for a leader is unglamorous and testable: a target announced is not a target accepted, and the difference is measurable in the outcome.
The limits
Correlational for the most part, and goal commitment is typically self-reported at the same time as the outcome. The construct has had a measurement history of its own — a companion measurement-model meta-analysis was published two years later precisely because the scales were disputed. The moderating role is well established; the size of it varies by study and task. Verified to abstract level.
What we do not say
any claim that securing commitment is a technique that guarantees the goal effect. It is a moderator with variable size, measured mostly by asking people, at the same moment they report the outcome.