Toward a More Expansive View of Priming in Organizations: Reflections on Chen, Latham, Piccolo, and Itzchakov

Abstract

The commentary first briefly presents selected notes on the Chen et al. (in press) excellent and inclusive article on primed goals and their effects. Then, it suggests that there exist at least two major streams of research that are conceptually allied with the priming construct that can serve to expand the range and importance of the implications of primed goals: the self‐fulfilling prophecy (SFP) and the organizational climate constructs. Brief reviews of these robust research literatures are then presented and linked conceptually to priming. The conclusion reached is that the validity of the priming construct has potentially wider conceptual and practical application and validity than a surface reading of the Chen et al. (2020) review might suggest.