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Abstract
Purpose - This paper seeks to examine the issue of whether Herzberg's two-factor motivation theory still resonates nearly 50 years after it was first posited. The objective is to assess whether or not Herzberg's contentious seminal studies on motivation at work still hold true today.
Design/methodology/approach - The arena in which the theory is investigated is work-based suggestion schemes, and the question considered is "What motivates employees to contribute ideas?" The paper begins by revisiting the literatures that form the basis of motivation theory and, in particular, the furore surrounding the work of Fredrick Herzberg.
Findings - The results are derived from a survey providing over 3,200 responses. They suggest that money and recognition do not appear to be primary sources of motivation in stimulating employees to contribute ideas. In line with Herzberg's predictions, factors associated with intrinsic satisfaction play a more important part.
Originality/value - The paper demonstrates that, despite the criticism, Herzberg's two-factor theory still has utility nearly 50 years after it was first developed.
Keywords Psychology, Human resource management, Ideas generation
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Factors such as organisational downsizing and an espoused commitment to employee empowerment, and new discourses around organisational learning and knowledge management, prompted the question as to whether Herzberg et al's (1959) study, The Motivation to Work, still has validity. The paper looks at this question through the lens of research into the problem of what motivates people to contribute ideas within the context of work-based suggestion schemes.
Organisations and those who work in them have experienced cataclysmic changes over the past half-century. There is more intense competition than has pertained previously because of globablisation, demographic shifts, technological development and an acceleration in the rate of innovation and the diffusion of new ideas (Ilinitch et al., 1996). There is pressure on organisations and workforces to deliver continuous improvement in products, systems and processes (Parolini, 1999).
On the plus side, financial rewards for the application of this knowledge can often be high for both the individual and the organisation, but, more negatively, employment continuity and opportunities for career progression available to the individual are generally considered to have deteriorated through a unilateral re-writing of the psychological contract by employers (Hiltrop, 1995). since Herzberg et al....