A profile approach to self-determination theory motivations at work

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Abstract

Self-determination theory (SDT) posits the existence of distinct types of motivation (i.e., external, introjected, identified, integrated, and intrinsic). Research on these different types of motivation has typically adopted a variable-centered approach that seeks to understand how each motivation in isolation relates to employee outcomes. We extend this work by adopting cluster analysis in a person-centered approach to understanding how different combinations or patterns of motivations relate to organizational factors. Results revealed five distinct clusters of motivation (i.e., low introjection, moderately motivated, low autonomy, self-determined, and motivated) and that these clusters were differentially related to need satisfaction, job performance, and work environment perceptions. Specifically, the self-determined (i.e., high autonomous motivation, low external motivation) and motivated (i.e., high on all types of motivation) clusters had the most favorable levels of correlates; whereas the low autonomy (i.e., least self-determined) cluster had the least favorable levels of these variables.

Highlights

► We used cluster analysis to conduct a person-oriented analysis of motivation. ► 5 motivational profiles emerged from a measure of self-determined motivation. ► ANOVA revealed differential relationships of profiles with workplace correlates. ► Self-determined and motivated clusters were most favorably related to correlates.

Introduction

Across the many theories of work motivation it is quite common to conceptualize motivation as varying primarily in quantity rather than in quality or type (Gagné & Deci, 2005). As an exception, self-determination theory (SDT; Deci and Ryan, 2000, Ryan and Deci, 2000) suggests that there are two primary types of motivation that can guide individual behavior: extrinsic motivation (i.e., to attain a reward or consequence separable from an activity itself) and intrinsic motivation (i.e., to do something because of an inherent inclination or interest; Gagné & Deci, 2005). Further, extrinsic motivation can be divided into four types ranging from least to most autonomous: external (i.e., for reward or praise), introjected (i.e., to avoid guilt or anxiety), identified (i.e., because the person sees value in the activity), and integrated (i.e., because the person has internalized the reasons for engaging in the behavior; Gagné and Deci, 2005, Koestner and Losier, 2002, Ntoumanis, 2002, Wang and Biddle, 2001).

Research from a variety of domains has linked these distinct forms of motivation to situational characteristics (e.g., Bono & Judge, 2003), well-being outcomes (e.g., Ryan, Deci, & Grolnick, 1995), and effective functioning (e.g., high effort expenditure, better learning; Grolnick and Ryan, 1987, Ryan and Connell, 1989). However, most of this research has adopted a ‘variable-centered’ approach in which the focus is on testing the relationships of each type of motivation with other variables (cf. Aldenderfer & Blashfield, 1984). Although such an approach provides valuable information about the direct and unique links of each motivation with other variables, it ignores the possibility that (a) distinct constellations of motivational profiles exist in the population and (b) these SDT motivation profiles may correspond to differences in other variables. This perspective is consistent with taking a ‘person-centered’ approach to conceptualizing SDT motivations, arguing that distinct motivational profiles might exist and that investigating these motivation ‘types’ might reveal unique insights into the ways in which SDT motivations tend to co-occur and the effects of these profiles on other variables.

Studies conducted in the educational and sport realms have made some progress in looking at motivation profiles (e.g., Ntoumanis, 2002, Ratelle et al., 2007, Wang and Biddle, 2001), but to our knowledge no organizational research has examined this issue. The present study aims to bridge this gap in the literature by (a) assessing each of the primary motivations described by SDT in an organizational setting, (b) identifying motivation profiles in our sample, and (c) linking the motivation profiles to correlates at work.

Section snippets

Motivation from a self-determination theory perspective

Intrinsic motivation is present when individuals do something for pleasure or enjoyment, whereas extrinsic motivation occurs when individuals do something because of external forces (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Although authors have long recognized a distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation (e.g., Porter & Lawler, 1968), SDT is unique in that it further divides extrinsic motivation into four types (i.e., external, introjected, identified, integrated) that vary in the degree to which

Person-oriented versus variable-oriented approaches

Person-centered research has been referred to as “a holistic, interactionistic view in which the individual is seen as an organized whole, functioning and developing as a totality” (Bergman & Magnusson, 1997, p. 291). This approach is in contrast to the variable-centered perspective, which aims to assess relations between variables across individuals (Aldenderfer & Blashfield, 1984). Thus, a point of distinction between the two approaches is that the person-centered perspective begins by

The present investigation

In the current investigation, we measured the five motivations from SDT in a sample of employees from China. We then performed cluster analysis on the data to identify distinct motivation profiles in the sample. Cluster analysis is particularly well-suited when taking an exploratory approach to identifying clusters, which is appropriate in this situation given the lack of theory and research on SDT profiles at work (which is in contrast to other techniques, such as latent class analysis, that

Participants and procedure

We selected organizations to sample with the goal of obtaining a broad cross-section of employees who differ in the type of work performed. To do this, we selected organizations located in different areas of the country and working in different industries. This approach resulted in participants coming from 12 large organizations (1 hospital, 2 financial securities companies, 3 manufacturing companies, 1 service company, 2 real estate companies, 1 energy company, 2 government agencies)

Results

Means, standard deviations, reliabilities, and correlations among variables are in Table 2. One outlier was removed from the analyses because it was more than three standard deviations from the mean (Liu et al., 2009). Cluster analysis was conducted in two steps. The first step consisted of subjecting the five motivation variables (left unstandardized given that all responses were made on the same 5-point scale and the belief that relative differences on the scale could be meaningful) to

Discussion

Findings from cluster analysis and ANOVA suggest several conclusions. First, individual motivation on the job from an SDT perspective can be described concisely as falling into one of five patterns: low introjection, moderately motivated, low autonomy, self-determined, and motivated. Some of these patterns are distinct from patterns observed in sport and educational contexts and do not directly correspond to what might be deduced from a priori theoretical predictions, suggesting that SDT

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