Goal setting in teams: The impact of learning and performance goals on process and performance

•We examine the impact of three alternative types of goals on team performance.•Specific learning goals performed worse than general learning goals.•Specific learning goals performed worse than specific performance goals.•Task complexity amplified the negative effects of specific learning goals.•Team coordination mediated the goal-performance relationship. This study examined the impact of three alternative types of goals (specific learning, general “do your best” learning, and specific performance) on team performance. Eighty-four-person teams engaged in an interdependent command and control simulation in which the team goal and task complexity were manipulated. Contrary to research at the individual level, teams with specific learning goals performed worse than did teams with general “do your best” learning goals or specific performance goals. The negative effects of specific learning goals relative to general “do your best” learning goals and specific performance goals were amplified under conditions of increased task complexity and were explained by the amount of coordination in the teams.