Examining the links between achievement goals, students' approaches to learning, and learning outcomes in business...

This study investigated how achievement goals and students' approaches to learning were jointly associated with academic success in business education. Drawing on survey data from 195 first-semester students enrolled in an introductory accounting course at a Nordic business school, we employed latent profile analysis to identify distinct learning profiles. We identified four learning profiles: Deep-Organized, Deep-Dominated, Surface-Dominated, and Benchmark. The majority of students (~70%) belonged to the two deep-oriented profiles, whereas only a small minority (6%) relied primarily on surface strategies. We then used multinomial logistic regression to examine associations with profile membership, achievement goals and academic outcomes. Mastery and performance-approach goals were associated with a higher likelihood of belonging to deep-oriented profiles, whereas performance-avoidance goals were associated with a lower likelihood of belonging to these profiles after accounting for the other achievement goals and control variables. The Organized approach was a strong predictor of academic achievement when the three continuous approaches to learning were used as predictors without achievement goals. However, approaches to learning profiles showed limited predictive power for academic achievement when motivational orientations were controlled for. Instead, performance-approach goals emerged as a comparatively robust predictor of both proximal (course-level) and distal (longer-term academic achievement during the bachelor's programme) outcomes (retrieved from university and public records), although the strength and statistical significance of the association varied across model specifications. These findings highlight the strong association of motivational orientations, particularly performance-approach goals, with students' academic trajectories in competitive business school contexts.