Significant reviews of organisational psychology research into work motivation
published during the last three decades include Korman et al. (1977), Pinder
(1984) and Latham and Pinder (2005).
In the first of these reviews, Korman et al. (1977) described four theoretical
frameworks in use in work motivation research during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Specifically, they described: (i) the needs-hierarchy model following the work of
Maslow (1954); (ii) the expectancy-value (EV) framework originally popularised
by Vroom (1964; also informing House's 1971 path-goal theory of leadership);
(iii) equity theory (proposing that equitable outcomes are more satisfying than
inequitable ones, see e.g. Adams 1963); and (iv) self esteem consistency
approaches (which relate performance/outcomes to levels of individuals' self
esteem; see Korman 1974).
In comparison with Korman et al., Pinder’s (1984) review encompassed a wider
range of discrete theories and placed specific work motivation theories within a
four-fold classification. The classification described (i) needs theories, (ii)
cognitive theories, (iii) behaviourist theories and (iv) work/job design theories.
These categories are described briefly below.
Needs theories such as those developed by Maslow (1954), McClelland (1961),
Herzberg (1966) and Alderfer (1969) are concerned with employees’ motives and
needs; such theories can also be described as intrinsic motivation theories.
Needs theories are based around how peoples’ needs motivate them to act in
ways which will satisfy these needs. Different people have different needs and
the same people will have different needs at different times and in different
contexts (such as at work). Writing in 1999, Ambrose and Kulik (1999: 233)
described how research interest in needs theories had reached its peak during the
late 1970s and early 1980s.
The cognitive theories of work motivation assume that people’s beliefs,
attitudes and intentions are the ultimate determinants of their behaviour. Locke
and Latham (1984) describe these cognitive theories as being broadly made of:
(i) equity theories; (ii) expectancy; and (iii) goal-setting theory. Each of these
are described in greater detail below.
The behaviourist approach does not assume the existence of needs, nor the
influence of invisible internal cognitive factors. Pinder (1984: 16) describes how