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What Do Multiple Objectives Really Mean for Performance? Empirical Evidence from the French Manufacturing Sector

Author

Listed:
  • Tomasz Obloj

    (GREGH - Groupement de Recherche et d'Etudes en Gestion à HEC - HEC Paris - Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Metin Sengul

    (BC - Boston College)

Abstract

We explore the performance consequences of the simultaneous pursuit of multiple objectives in organizations. Taking advantage of a unique dataset covering both the objectives pursued and performance outcomes, we test the hypothesis that is the cornerstone of multiple objective theory: performance on a given metric increases when it is pursued as an objective but decreases with the number of other objectives pursued simultaneously. We find overall support to this hypothesis, which holds for most, but not all, objectives. We further unpack the link between multiplicity of objectives and performance, investigating the moderating effects of organization design choices. This study suggests that multiple objectives impose a cost on organizations, but also provide a benefit of alleviating tradeoffs in achieving higher performance in multiple dimensions.

Suggested Citation

  • Tomasz Obloj & Metin Sengul, 2020. "What Do Multiple Objectives Really Mean for Performance? Empirical Evidence from the French Manufacturing Sector," Working Papers hal-02896084, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-02896084
    DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3403492
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Metin Sengul, 2021. "The promise and limits of social franchises as hybrid organizations," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 10(3), pages 115-117, December.
    2. Cédric Gutierrez & Tomasz Obloj & Douglas H. Frank, 2021. "Better to have led and lost than never to have led at all? Lost leadership and effort provision in dynamic tournaments," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 774-801, April.
    3. Aseem Kaul, 2021. "Putting the horse back before the cart: designing strategic social enterprises," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 10(3), pages 103-108, December.
    4. Zhang, Hongyan & Zhang, Lin, 2023. "Public support and energy innovation: Why do firms react differently?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    5. Aseem Kaul, 2022. "Of fruit flies, toads, and other hopeful monsters: thoughts on Levinthal’s Evolutionary Processes and Organizational Adaptation," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 11(3), pages 91-94, September.
    6. Kizys, Renatas & Mamatzakis, Emmanuel C. & Tzouvanas, Panagiotis, 2023. "Does genetic diversity on corporate boards lead to improved environmental performance?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    7. Block, Sidney T. & Friebel, Guido & Heinz, Matthias & Zubanov, Nick, 2022. "Mystery Shopping as a Strategic Management Practice in Multi-Site Firms," IZA Discussion Papers 15599, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Tohyun Kim & Daegyu Yang, 2020. "Multiple Goals, Attention Allocation, and the Intention-Achievement Gap in Energy Efficiency Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-13, August.

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