Exploration and Exploitation Effort as Mediators between State-Level Goal Orientation and Complex Performance

Abstract

Organizational success depends on a workforce that can effectively solving the problems posed by rapid changes in modern marketplaces. In this study, we use achievement goal theory and self-regulation theories to better understand the mechanisms by which people solve complex problems. We hypothesized that the effects of goal orientations on performance would be mediated by exploratory effort and exploitative effort. These hypotheses were tested using a sample of 119 undergraduate students. Participants completed multiple sessions of an experimental task –– an adaptation of the marshmallow challenge (Wujec, 2010) –– that required people to create a useful structure with a novel design. The results of this study showed that exploration effort positively related to novelty, and exploitation effort positively related to usefulness. Mastery-approach goal orientation was a significant predictor of both types of effort, while performance-approach goal orientation led to increased exploitation effort and decreased exploration effort.