Managing goal heterogeneity in strategic initiatives

Abstract

Strategic initiatives are temporary group undertakings designed to renew organizational capabilities and are crucial to organizational performance. Despite the inherent goal heterogeneity stemming from individual, departmental, organizational, and initiative levels, research conceptualizes goals as unitary within the team. Our objective is to explore ways to manage goal heterogeneity for the successful development of strategic initiatives within the intraorganizational context. We argue that organizational controls and decision comprehensiveness can be effective in mitigating the negative effects of heterogeneity. This will help facilitate a group of individuals in behaving as a team and being committed to the agreed-upon task at hand. We also articulate the positive role of strategic consensus in moving initiatives in the resource allocation process. Our theory building provides a roadmap for managing strategic initiatives in the resource allocation process and contributes to research on strategic initiatives and goals and, more broadly, to behavioral theory.