Goal Ambiguity, Management, and Performance in U.S. Nursing Homes

Public administration research has produced a large literature on the determinants, consequences, and complexities of goal clarity and ambiguity. This article contributes to this line of work by examining how perceived goal ambiguity and goal multiplicity condition the effect of top administrators’...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAdministration & society Vol. 52; no. 8; pp. 1170 - 1208
Main Authors Song, Miyeon, Meier, Kenneth J., Amirkhanyan, Anna
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2020
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Administrators
Ambiguity
Nursing homes
Objectives
Public administration
Quality
Quality of service
United States > US
goal ambiguity
public management
organizational performance
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Summary:Public administration research has produced a large literature on the determinants, consequences, and complexities of goal clarity and ambiguity. This article contributes to this line of work by examining how perceived goal ambiguity and goal multiplicity condition the effect of top administrators’ management on performance. In the context of U.S. nursing homes, we find that the positive effect of management on service quality tends to decrease when administrators report facing high levels of goal ambiguity and pursue numerous priorities that they consider important. This study improves our understanding of the complex mechanisms through which managerial strategies influence organizational outcomes.
ISSN:0095-3997
1552-3039
DOI:10.1177/0095399720901343