Organisation theory
Lecture 4
Motivation – Feb. 25, 2026
Today’s agenda
Motivation theory
Content vs proces theories
Maslow, Alderfer & McLellean vs Vroom, Adams & Locke
Herzberg – 2 factor theory
Movers & motivators
Hygiene and motivation factors
Deci & Ryan – Self Determination Theory (SDT)
Extrinsic vs intrinsic
Overview:
Two schools of motivation theory
Content motivation theories
Process motivation theories
1)
2)
3)
4)
1)
2)
3)
Maslow’s need hierarchy theory
Alderfer’s ERG theory of needs
McClelland’s need theory
Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory
Question:
• What factors motivates people?
• What do people need in their lives?
• What are the goals people want to attain?
• What are the drivers of goal-directed
behavior?
Vroom’s expectancy theory
Adam’s equity theory
Locke’s goal setting theory
Question:
• How people are motivated?
• How motivation is induced?
Theoretical focus:
• Psychological and behavioral process that
people follow.
Theoretical focus:
• Things that people feel they need.
3
Content theory:
(1) Maslow’s needs hierarchy theory
Pyramid (Hierarchy) of Needs, 5 levels
5) Fulfilment of one’s potential
SelfActualization
Self-esteem
Social belonging
Safety needs
Physiological needs
4) Internal: Self-confidence in ability
External: Recognition from others
3) Family relationship, friend relationship, group membership
2) Job security, financial security, health
1) Bodily needs: food, water, sleep, clothing
 Maslow proposed that motivation is a function of the five basic human needs.
4
Maslow (continued)
Pyramid (Hierarchy) of Needs, 5 levels
SelfActualization
Self-esteem
Social belonging
The hierarchy of needs acts like a ladder.
• People do not seek to achieve the different
levels of needs at the same time.
• Only after a given level of needs is satisfied,
are people motivated to strive for the next
level of needs.
• Likewise, people are not motivated to
achieve safety needs before their
physiological needs are not satisfied.
Safety needs
Physiological needs
People are fully motivated when all of
these needs are satisfied
5
Content Theory:
(2) Alderfer’s ERG theory
Pyramid (Hierarchy) of Needs, 5 levels
Alderfer’s ERG model, 3 levels
(Three-factor model of motivation)
Growth
SelfActualization
Self-esteem
Relatedness
Social belonging
Safety needs
Physiological needs
Existence
6
Alderfer (continued)
3 levels of human needs: Existence – Relatedness - Growth
Growth
• Need for personal development
• E.g., interesting challenges
Relatedness
• Need to related to other people
• E.g., social interaction; personal and family relations
Existence
• Survival (bodily) needs
• E.g., food, safety, pay, job security
7
Alderfer (continued)
The frustration-regression principle
• ERG model posits that people are fully motivated when all 3 needs are satisfied
Growth
Relatedness
Existence
o This is the same as Maslow’s model.
o But Alderfer extends Maslow by suggesting the frustration-regression principle.
• Key idea: If people cannot satisfy a given level of needs (say, Relatedness), they
regress and seek to further satisfy another level (say, Existence or Growth)
instead.
o If people perceive their Relatedness unsatisfied, their motivation to achieve
Relatedness becomes lower and they feel frustrated.
o Frustration causes people to abandon Relatedness, and instead, they are more
strongly motivated to seek out Existence or Growth.
o Likewise, if people are unable to satisfy Existence, they abandon Existence and
instead seek to further satisfy Growth or Relatedness.
 Frustration and regression decrease job satisfaction and motivation,
thereby lowering firm performance.
8
Maslow versus Alderfer: Similarities
Maslow and Alderfer both argue,
1) There are identifiable levels of needs that human beings generally
aspire to achieve.
• People have motivation to achieve those needs in organizational contexts.
2) Both are interested in the way people perceive their achievement of
needs.
3) Both posit that people are fully motivated when all levels of needs
are satisfied.
9
Maslow versus Alderfer (continued): Differences
• Maslow seeks to propose a universalist model of human motivation.
versus
• But Alderfer argues that different individuals value the same kinds of
needs differently.
• Not everyone has a need for Existence, Relatedness or Growth to the same
degree.
Alderfer incorporate differences in individuals’ preferences for certain
needs and their feelings of need satisfaction into his ERG model.
10
Maslow versus Alderfer (continued): Differences
The hierarchy
is fixed.
Growth
SelfActualization
Self-esteem
Relatedness
Social belonging
Safety needs
Physiological needs
Existence
Maslow’s pyramid (hierarchy) of needs
Alderfer’s ERG model
The hierarchy
is fluid.
11
Maslow versus Alderfer (continued): Differences
Maslow
Alderfer
1) The hierarchy of needs is fixed.
1) The hierarchy is not fixed but fluid.
2) The hierarchy of needs acts like a
ladder.
2) People can have motivation to
achieve multiple levels of needs at
the same time.
3) People are not motivated to
achieve a higher level before their
lower needs are not satisfied.
3) Frustration-Regression Principle: If
people are not satisfied with a
certain need, they abandon the need
and seek out another need.
12
Maslow versus Alderfer (continued):
Managerial implications of Maslow and Alderfer
• From Maslow’s need hierarchy model:
• To boost motivational work climate, organizational leaders should focus on enabling their
employees to achieve one specific level of needs at a time.
• From Alderfer’s ERG model :
• Leaders should look to promote all levels of needs at the same time.
• Leaders should set specific practices in motion, before employees’ FrustrationRegression stands out.
13
Content theory:
(3) McClelland’s need theory
• An extension of Maslow.
• Three motivating factors
1)
Need for achievement
• High achievers have a strong desire to accomplishing difficult goals.
• They are interested in maintaining high performance, surpassing others, increasing self-regard.
• This need overlaps Maslow’s self-esteem and self-actualization.
2)
Need for affiliation
• The desire to form and maintain a few lasting, positive and important interpersonal relationships.
3)
Need for power
• The desire to influence, coach, teach or encourage others to achieve.
• Those with a high need for power are concerned with recognition, self-esteem, prestige,
reputation, and status
14
McClelland (continued)
• All people (regardless of age, sex, race, or culture) are motivated to achieve one of the three
needs: achievement, affiliation, or power.
• For some people, achievement is the most important factor.
• For others, power is the most important factor.
• What makes such individual differences?
o People’s need priorities are acquired and shaped over time through their life experiences.
o Thus, McClelland’s theory is also known as the Acquired Needs Theory.
• Difference between Maslow and McClelland?
o McClelland rejects the idea that there is hierarchy in human needs (as in ERG model).
15
Process theory:
(1) Vroom’s expectancy theory of motivation
Victor H. Vroom. “Work and Motivation” (1964)
Key question:
• How and under what conditions do people
become motivated to behave?
Key idea:
• Motivation for behavior is influenced by
individuals’ expectations about the future
about their efforts or inputs for the work.
16
Vroom (continued)
Outcome refers to rewards
(pay, promotions or recognition)
Effort
Performance
Motivation
Outcome
Employee thinks effort
will lead to acceptable
performance
Employee thinks
acceptable performance
will result in acceptable
rewards
Employee valuation of
reward
[EXPECTANCY]
[INSTRUMENTALITY]
[VALENCE]
• Personal characteristics
• Job characteristics
• Working conditions
• Organizational reward systems
that consider individual needs
and preferences
17
Vroom (continued)
Managerial implications:
• Set achievable performance goals (Expectancy)
• Ensure to provide the rewards that they have agreed to do (Instrumentality)
• Design organizational reward systems towards individual needs (Valence)
18
Process theory:
(2) Adams’s equity theory of motivation
J. Stacey Adams (1963), “Toward an understanding of inequity” in the
Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology.
Question: How and under what conditions do people become motivated?
Key idea: Perceptions of equity, equality or fairness matter for motivation.
• People become motivated to commit to group goals when they
perceive that the rewards (outcome) they receive for their inputs
(effort) are similar to those that their peers receive.
• If people perceive unfair treatment in rewards, they experience
“cognitive dissonance” (psychological discomfort), and get
motivated to correct the unfair situation (e.g., sabotage or working
slowly).
19
Adams (continued)
Key question: How can people make their judgments of fairness or unfairness in the exchange relationship
between inputs and outcomes (i.e., rewards)?
Comparison of self with other
Equity
Inequity
Negative
SELF
Outcomes
Inputs

OTHER
Outcomes
SELF
Outcomes
Inputs
Inputs
Motivation to maintain
current situation

Positive
OTHER
Outcomes
SELF
Outcomes
Inputs
Inputs
Motivation to reduce inequity
(e.g., work less hard; quit the job)

OTHER
Outcomes
Inputs
Motivation to reduce inequity
(e.g., inflating perceptions of their
own contribution)
20
Process theory:
(3) Latham and Locke’s goal-setting theory
Edwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham (1990)
“A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance”
Question: How do people become motivated?
Key idea: People are motivated to work hard by appropriate
goals and feedbacks.
1) Goals inform people about performance standards
and expectations so that they can channel their
energies accordingly.
2) [F]eedback provides the information needed to adjust
direction, effort and strategies for goal
accomplishment. Feedback enhances the effect of
specific, difficult goals.
21
Latham and Locke (continued)
Model of Goal Setting
Question: How can goalsetting promote motivation
and performance?
Goals
motivate the
individual by .
..
Four motivational mechanisms
Directing one’s
attention
Regulating one’s
effort
Increasing one’s
persistence
Task
performance
Encouraging the
development of
goal-attainment
strategies or
action plans
+
Feedback
Model summary: Goal-setting and
feedbacks combine to improve
motivation and performance.
22
Latham and Locke (continued)
How should goals be set to motivate people?
1)
Goal difficulty
• It refers to the amount of effort (inputs) needed to accomplish a goal.
• Goals need to be challenging in order to be motivating.
• But too challenging goals demotivate people.
• Research found an inverted U-shaped relationship between goal difficulty and performance.
2)
Goal specificity
• It refers to the extent to which a goal is specifically stated.
• Goals should be set at the right level of complexity.
• Goal-setting has a stronger effect on motivation when the task is less complex.
• Multiple goals need to be set for complex tasks.
3)
Goal commitment
• It refers to the extent to which an individual is personally committed to achieving a goal.
• Goals should be accepted by the individuals tasked with accomplishing them.
• Employees are motivated to achieve a goal when they accept it as reasonable, obtainable
and fair.
23
Latham and Locke (continued)
Potential problem of the goal-setting approach
• People can adopt any means necessary for accomplishing a goal.
• This problem is about corporate ethics.
• For example, the goal of shareholder value maximization can result in the
use of mass layoffs, R&D reduction, asset divesting or toxic emission.
o It turns out that such corporate strategies are instrumental in boosting stock prices
(so increasing shareholder value).
o But it also turns out that such strategies have negative effects on employees,
customers, community, natural environments, and general social well-being.
24
Overview:
Two schools of motivation theory
Content motivation theories
Process motivation theories
1)
2)
3)
4)
1)
2)
3)
Maslow’s need hierarchy theory
Alderfer’s ERG theory of needs
McClelland’s need theory
Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory
Question:
• What factors motivates people?
• What do people need in their lives?
• What are the goals people want to attain?
• What are the drivers of goal-directed
behavior?
Vroom’s expectancy theory
Adam’s equity theory
Locke’s goal setting theory
Question:
• How people are motivated?
• How motivation is induced?
Theoretical focus:
• Psychological and behavioral process that
people follow.
Theoretical focus:
• Things that people feel they need.
25
Herzberg’s 2 factor theory (content theory)
• Movement
• Build-in drive to avoid pain
• All learned needs that become conditioned
• Motivation
• An internal self-charging battery
• Energy or desire to move comes from inside,
from the simple
• Based on growth needs
• No need for incremental incentives
2 types of factors
Hygiene factors
• EXTRINSIC aspects of work
• E.g., Company policies, supervision, relationships, work conditions, salary, status, security
Motivation factors
• INTRINSIC aspects of work
• E.g., a sense of achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility, advancement, growth
 Two-factor theory or Dual structure theory
27
Herzberg (continued)
Hygiene conditions are good,
but
motivating conditions are poor
Dissatisfaction
Hygiene factors
• determine dissatisfaction levels
• They are necessary conditions for
motivation
Neutral
Satisfaction or
motivation
Motivating factors
• determine satisfaction levels
• They are sufficient conditions for
motivation
28
Hertzberg (continued)
Implications
1) Good working conditions are NECESSARY but NOT SUFFICIENT conditions for
motivation (extrinsic)
2) The job itself should be interesting and challenging (intrinsic)
• The job itself should be enriched as opposed to enlarged
• Job enrichment should entail modifying the job in such a way that people have
the opportunity to experience achievement, recognition, stimulating work,
responsibility and advancement
29
Application: Herzberg’s model with vertical loading
Principle
Motivators involved
1. Reduce controls while keeping accountability
Responsibility
Personal achievement
2. Increasing accountability for own work
Responsibility recognition
3. Giving an employee a natural unit of work
Responsibility
Achievement recognition
4. Giving job freedom to an employee in their activity
Resposiblity achievement
Recognition
5. Give periodic feedback direct to the worker
Internal recognition
6. Introducing new and more difficult tasks not previously
handled
Growth
Learning
7. Assigning individuals specific or specialised tasks, enabling
them to become experts
Responsibility
Growth
Advancement
Comparing 4 content motivation theories
Herzberg
Maslow
Alderfer
McClelland
Motivators
Self-actualization
Esteem
Growth
Achievement
Power
Hygiene factors
Belonging
Safety
Physiological
Relatedness
Existence
Affiliation
 All content theories have one internal weakness:
they reveal nothing about the actual motivation
process…
However…. They do help us understand what
motivates people
Vroom’s key question:
• How and under what conditions do people
become motivated to behave?
31
Self Determination Theory – Ryan & Deci
Focused on social-contextual conditions that facilitate or forestall self-motivation, growth and
well-being
A recognition that our social-conditions affects our motivation -> answering both what
motivates us and how
Social contexts catalyst
Within- and between people differences in motivation
We are more self-motivated in some situations, domaines and cultures than others
Intrinsic motivation
growth and well-being
Definition: Intrinsic motivation, the inherent tendency to seek out novelty and challenges, to extend and
exercise one's capacities, to explore, and to learn.
“…extrinsic motivation refers to the performance of an activity in order to attain some separable outcome and, thus,
contrasts with intrinsic motivation, which refers to doing an activity for the inherent satisfaction of the activity itself”
(Ryan, M. R., & Deci, L. W. (2000) Self-Determination Theory
Development, and Well-being)
and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social
SDT – subtheory -> CET ( C o g n i t i v e E v a l u a t i o n T h e o r y )
Factors that explain variability in intrinsic motivation
Factors that facilitate intrinsic motivation
Optimal challenges
Effectance-promoting feedback
Freedom from demeaning evaluations
We will ONLY be
intrinsically motivated
for activities of interest
to us.
Feelings of competence -> only when accompanied by autonomy
Factors that diminish intrinsic motivation
Expected tangible rewards contingent on task performance
Threats
Deadlines
Directives
Pressured evaluation
Imposed goals
Activities that have
appeal of
• Novelty
• Challenge
• Aesthetic value
SDT – subtheory -> OIT (organismic integration theory)
• Different forms of extrinsic motivation
• Contextual factors promoting or
hindering internalisation and
intergration of regulation behaviours
• Amotivation
• Not valueing an activity
• Nor feeling competent for it
• Not expecting an outcome
• Externally regulated
• Action performed to satisfy external
demand or reward contingency
Range of assimilated behaviours increases over time
BUT
The continuum is NOT chronologic
• Introjected regulation
• Not fully accepting a ”responsibility” for
an action
• Actions performed to avoid guilt or
anxiety
• Or to attain ego enhancement (ex pride)
To maintain feeling of worth (contigent
self-esteem)
• Identified regulation
• Conscious valueing of behaviour
regulation
• Action is accepted or ”owned” as
important
• Integrated regulation
• Regulations fully assimilated to self
• Actions done to attain separable
outcomes – but share similarities with
intrinsic motivation
SDT – summed up
Contexts that foster internalisation and integration of
regulation behaviours are supportive of
Autonomy
Competence
Relatedness
Creating such environments engenders
Commitment
Effort
High-quality performance