When does hindrance appraisal strengthen the effect of challenge appraisal? The role of goal orientation

Abstract

Challenge and hindrance appraisals are important to understand the effect of job demands. To date, challenge and hindrance appraisals have been studied in tandem. However, it is unknown whether, how, and when the two appraisals jointly affect employee performance. Integrating effort justification theory and goal orientation theory, the current manuscript seeks to investigate the three-way interaction effects of challenge appraisal, hindrance appraisal, and both performance-prove goal orientation and learning goal orientation on task performance via job meaningfulness and activated positive emotions. In a diary study among 96 employees over 10 consecutive workdays (N_Occasion = 960, N_Employee = 96), we found that at the daily level, hindrance appraisal strengthens (a) the effects of challenge appraisal of job demands on job meaningfulness and activated positive emotions and (b) the indirect effects of challenge appraisal on task performance via job meaningfulness and activated positive emotions. Furthermore, the strengthening effects of hindrance appraisal are more pronounced as individual trait performance-prove goal orientation increases, but they do not vary as individual trait learning goal orientation decreases. These research findings shed light on effort justification in explaining the interaction effects of challenge and hindrance appraisals and the role of goal orientation in the process.