Extant literature on target-setting indicates that responding to achievability-related criticisms towards ex ante targets through repair actions are of significance in restoring fairness and maintaining the legitimacy of performance systems. By drawing on empirical materials on responses to unfairness criticisms raised against target-setting practices in a bank, the study shows that such legitimation work also requires responding to equity-related criticisms. Equity implies that, when situations differ, targets must be differentiated to make the intensity of efforts the same. This study shows that legitimately differentiating targets requires an original and highly complex commensuration work. This work is original because compared to prior commensuration studies it concerns the commensuration of efforts and not of entities. This work is complex because it is difficult to account for all differences during target-setting and because such differentiation can be made mechanically and discretionally, each form of differentiation bringing its own source of illegitimacy. Moreover, it is also complex because it is a distributed work, involving numerous actors with multiple concerns. Such commensuration work then appears to be continuous and dynamic. This complements prior studies in target-setting, which have focussed mainly on dyadic relations between a superior and a subordinate and on single-period adjustments to targets.

现有的关于目标设定的文献表明，在事前回应与可实现性相关的批评通过修复行动实现目标对于恢复公平性和维护绩效系统的合法性具有重要意义。通过借鉴对针对银行目标设定做法提出的不公平批评的回应的经验材料，该研究表明，这种合法化工作也需要回应与股权相关的批评。公平意味着，当情况不同时，必须区分目标以使努力的强度相同。这项研究表明，合理区分目标需要原创且高度复杂的比较工作。这项工作是原创的，因为与之前的比较研究相比，它涉及的是努力的比较，而不是实体的比较。这项工作很复杂，因为在目标设定过程中很难解释所有差异，而且这种差异可以机械地和随意地进行，每种形式的差异都会带来自己的非法来源。此外，它也很复杂，因为它是一个分布式工作，涉及多个参与者，涉及多个关注点。这样的比较工作似乎是连续的和动态的。这补充了先前关于目标设定的研究，这些研究主要关注上级和下级之间的二元关系以及对目标的单期调整。这样的比较工作似乎是连续的和动态的。这补充了先前关于目标设定的研究，这些研究主要关注上级和下级之间的二元关系以及对目标的单期调整。这样的比较工作似乎是连续的和动态的。这补充了先前关于目标设定的研究，这些研究主要关注上级和下级之间的二元关系以及对目标的单期调整。