Boosting Performance through Motivation

Introduction

Background of the study

In the current hypercompetitive business environment, organisations seeking to remain competitive need to apply some factors that will boost their performance. Extant research reveals that employee motivation is the most fundamental factor in enhancing employee performance. According to Qaiser Danish et al. (2015), motivated employees are beneficial to an organisation in that they perform better and promote determination and knowledge while shaping a roadmap for fellow employees at the workplace. In general terms, motivation incorporates all the characteristics that make employees act (Dobre 2013). On the other hand, Danish et al. (2015) assert that motivation is a combination of force, need, and incentive but argues that monetary incentives and command systems negatively affect motivation. From a different perspective, Shahzadi et al. (2014) define motivation as the technique through which organisational leaders create optimistic work conditions and attain the set goals in an effective and efficient manner. Numerous research on work performance underscores the importance of employee motivation in enhancing work performance and as a result, managers have developed different ways through which they support the motivation of their workers in order to drive performance (Graves et al. 2013). Danish et al. (2015) assert that the relationship between employee motivation and work performance has received a significant amount of attention not only from academic researchers but also from industrial and organisational practitioners. Throughout the studies, the understanding of motivation continues to evolve and a wide range of theories have been used to describe motivation as either intrinsic or extrinsic and the effect each has on work performance (Shahzadi et al. 2014). Based on these theories, personal interests intrinsically motivate behaviours while external mechanisms such as punishment or incentives extrinsically motivate behaviours (Ganta 2014). Nonetheless, extant research reveals that at times the behaviour of an individual cannot be well explained by either extrinsic incentives or intrinsic interests (Kuranchie-Mensah and Amponsah-Tawiah 2016). In such cases, workers may engage in work activities if they find the work important or they feel they have a responsibility for the work (Graves et al. 2013). When this is the case, employees do not complete their duties because they are intrinsically motivated or because external regulations pressure them to work. This type of motivation is addressed within the self-determination theory and is seen to have a significant effect on work outcomes (Deci et al. 2017).

The self-determination theory is founded on the classic difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and provides a continuum model of controlled vs. autonomous (Deci et al. 2017). According to this continuum model, extrinsic motivation can be categorised into different regulation types including introjected regulation, extrinsic regulation, and identified regulation (Deci et al. 2017). Literature on the self-determination theory reveals that extrinsic regulation is the least type of self-determination while identified and introjected regulation being the more autonomous forms of self-determination (Olafsen et al. 2015). According to Howard et al. (2016), intrinsic motivation is inherently autonomous thus have more positive effects on work performance. In light of this information, this study seeks to explore the effect of intrinsic motivation of work performance in the Nigerian Brewery industry. In the workplace context, some researchers argue that extrinsic motivation has a more positive impact on work performance as compared to intrinsic motivation because people work to earn a living (Bidee et al. 2013). Such scholars assert that monetary rewards and punishments are vital motivational strategies and they are appealing and practical in many organisations. From this perspective, business managers are more likely to consider extrinsic motivation in enhancing employees’ performance (Bidee et al. 2013). In addition, most managers believe that contingent rewards positively reinforce desired behaviours because jobs alone are boring and lack interest value and in such cases, intrinsic motivation is considered impractical in promoting performance (Kuvaas et al. 2017). Further, Dysvik and Kuvaas (2013) argue that the interests of individual employees may not always relate to what employees need to do to perform well while their goals may not align with those of the company and in such cases, intrinsic motivation will fail if used as a motivational strategy for enhancing work performance. In light of this information, this study seeks to explore the extent to which extrinsic motivation is used as a motivational strategy for promoting work performance in the Nigerian brewery industry.

Research problem and scope of the study

The purpose of this study is to identify the types of motivational strategies adopted by business managers in the Nigerian brewery industry in order to promote work performance. In particular, the paper identifies the types of extrinsic motivation and use of intrinsic motivation and their relation to work performance. The study will also explore if companies in the Nigerian brewery industry employ self-determination theories of motivation to motivate work performance and how such strategies have affected work performance. In so doing, the study will advance previous research by exploring the relations between intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, extrinsic regulation, identified regulation, and introjected regulation and work performance.

Aim of the research

The aim of this study is to explore the impact of employee motivation on work performance with a focus on the Nigerian brewery industry.

Objectives of the study

In order to attain the aim of the study, the following objectives are fundamental:

To identify the forms of intrinsic motivational strategies used in the Nigerian brewery industry and establish their effect on work performance

To identify the extent to which extrinsic motivational strategies are adopted in the Nigerian brewery industry and their effect on work performance

To identify the types of self-regulation motivational strategies used in the Nigerian brewery industry and find out their effect on work performance

Research questions

What types of intrinsic motivational strategies are used in the Nigerian brewery industry?

What forms of extrinsic motivational strategies are adopted by firms in the Nigerian brewery industry?

How do firms in the Nigerian brewery industry use self-regulation motivational strategies to promote work performance?

What effect do these motivational strategies have on work performance?

Literature review

Introduction

This chapter reviews existing literature in order to give the study a sharper focus. The chapter identifies and explains the theories that underpin the study. In addition, the chapter reviews empirical evidence in order to identify gaps in literature and define the contribution this study makes to existing literature. The chapter also defines the conceptual framework of the current study and lastly provides a summary of the main points.

Theoretical background

The major theory underpinning this study is the self-determination theory. As earlier noted, the self-determination theory adopts the autonomy continuum in order to describe various motivation types. Wang and Hou (2015) define autonomy as endorsing an individual’s actions at the highest level of reflection. The authors argue that the most autonomous end of the continuum is intrinsic motivation, which they define as performing an activity in order to be satisfied and enjoy rather than for other separable outcomes. On the least autonomous and of the continuum is extrinsic motivation but this differ in the degree to which it is internalised (Zhang et al. 2016). Internalisation in this case is the transformation through which a regulation that was originally influenced by external factors such as rewards becomes internally regulated and therefore no longer requires the facilitation of external contingency (Bidee et al. 2013). The extent to which internalisation occurs determines the level of autonomy that will be attained, which implies that extrinsic motivation can remain regulated externally, or fully or partially regulated internally based on the degree to which extrinsic regulation is internalise (Zhang et al. 2016). Therefore, extrinsic regulation can be categorised into three groups namely external, introjected, and identified regulation and this study explores the effect of these types of extrinsic motivation on work performance.

External regulation means that an employee performs tasks in order to avoid punishments or obtain rewards and therefore it is the least autonomous type of extrinsic motivation (Zhang et al. 2016). Introjected regulation is internal to an employee although it is yet to be accepted as his/her own. Introjected employees perform tasks due to compulsion or guilt or to maintain their self-worth (Bidee et al. 2013). Identified regulation means that employees perform activities because they relate to the personal importance of performing that task and accept the tasks as their own (Chemolli and Gagné 2014). In this type of regulation, employees have greater freedom as their behaviour is congruent with their personal goals. While identification is often confused with intrinsic motivation, the two differ because in identification, an activity is performed not because it is enjoyable or interesting but because of the value it represents. The self-determination theory hold that intrinsic motivation and identified regulation are autonomous forms of motivation while introjected and external regulation are controlled types of motivation in that employees are less self-determined (Nie et al. 2015). This study will relate these types of motivation to work performance.

Empirical evidence

A study conducted by Ganta (2014) establishes that psychological needs of employees work better as motivators thus intrinsic rewards such as recognition, appreciation, and responsibility have a significant and positive effect on work performance. In the same vein, Sudiardhita et al. (2018) assert that non-cash rewards stimulate employee to attain organisational goals while cash value incentives have insignificant effect on work performance. On the contrary, Kalhoro et al. (2017) assert that extrinsic motivation such as pay and financial rewards help in fulfilling every level needs thus have the power to motivate employees to higher performance. Another study conducted by Bhuvanaiah and Raya (2015) reveal that people are intrinsically motivated when they experience enjoyment, interest and pleasure in their work and such positive feelings promote work performance. Analogously, Cerasoli et al. (2014) establish that intrinsic motivation has a positive relation to work performance as it generates various positive outcomes such as work effort, well-being, affective commitment, and job satisfaction. A recent study conducted by Zhang et al. (2016) used met-analytic procedures and the results show that intrinsic motivation is positively related to work performance as well as to the quality of work performance. Based on these empirical findings, this study hypothesises that intrinsic motivation is significantly and positively related to overall work performance as well as on task performance, dedicative performance, interpersonal performance, and adaptive performance. The relationship between extrinsic motivation and work performance has also been well researched. According to Howard et al. (2016), incentives could promote work performance if the incentive impart a competence-boosting message. The authors argue that quantity and quality are two examples of task performance that are enhanced by extrinsic motivation. Another empirical study conducted by Gagné et al. (2015) suggests that incentives are dominant predictors of task quantity criteria and drive performance as they focus on the completion of those tasks. In agreement, Bidee et al. (2013) write that external contingency motivates an employee’s performance, persistence, and productivity thus essential in promoting work performance. In the workplace context, Zhang et al. (2016) reveal that extrinsic incentives motivate workers as the direct goal of many employees is to earn more money. Based on these empirical findings, this study hypothesises that extrinsic motivation has an effect on task performance and could potentially affect dedicative performance.

Conceptual framework of work performance

Work performance has been a critical issue in organisation management and as a result has attracted extensive interest from academicians. Despite the attention it has received, there lacks a comprehensive conceptual framework of work performance (Zhang et al. 2016). Based on conceptual groupings in existing literature, work performance can be grouped into various dimensions including task performance, adaptive performance, organisational citizenship behaviour, counterproductive work behaviour, and contextual performance (Koopmans et al. 2014). Informed by literature, Wen (2005) constructed a performance rating scale that examined dimensions of work performance in the Chinese context and identified four dimensions of work performance namely task performance, interpersonal performance, dedicative performance, and adaptive performance. Task performance related to the technical core of the organisation, interpersonal and dedicative performances are related to contextual performance, and adaptive performance includes work adjustment, autonomous learning and innovation. These four dimensions represent an empirical extension thus provides a detailed dimension of work performance against which types of motivation will be explored in this study.

Conclusion

The self-determination theory underpins this study. The theory adopts autonomy continuum to describe various types of motivation including external regulation, introjected regulation, and identified regulation. Work performance is explored from four dimensions: task performance, dedicative performance, interpersonal performance, and adaptive performance. Intrinsic motivation is seen to positively and significantly relate to the four dimensions of work performance while extrinsic motivation is seen to potentially relate to dedicative and task performance.

Research methodology and research methods

Research ontology and epistemology

Research ontology focuses on the assumptions a researcher has about the way in which the world operates as well as the commitment to the held views while epistemology is concerned with what knowledge is acceptable in a certain field of study (Saunders et al. 2016). There are two aspects of ontology namely objectivism and subjectivism. This study adopts a subjectivist stance to study how different managers perceive motivation and the different types of motivation they use to motivate their employees based on their view of the world. Managers in different organisations in the Nigerian brewery industry interpret motivation differently which affects they actions in terms of the motivational strategies they use to promote employee performance. The subjective view is that employee motivation is produced through interaction between the needs of employees and their work and is therefore continually being revised. In other words, there is no time that a definitive entity called employee motivation will be realised as it is constantly changing. As such, this study will place much authority on feelings and attitudes of managers towards employee motivation in the process of promoting organisational performance.

Research philosophy

Saunders et al. (2016) identify four research philosophies namely positivism, realism, interpretivism, and pragmatism. Of the four, this study adopts the positivist philosophical stance, which implies that the study works with an observable social reality to produce a law-like generalisation. The study uses existing theory to develop hypotheses, which will then be tested and confirmed using the data collected. The data to be collected will be determined by the developed hypothesis, which implies that the researcher will only be interested in data that relates to employee motivation and work performance. To ensure that future researchers can replicate this study, highly structured methodology will be adopted and quantifiable observations that can be statistically analysed will be prioritised.

Research approach

Azungah (2018) notes that research can take either the deductive or inductive approach. This study adopts the deductive research approach whereby theory and hypotheses are developed and a research strategy designed to test the hypotheses. The study hypothesises that employee motivation is positively and significantly related to work performance. Additionally, the study hypothesises that intrinsic motivation significantly and positively affects the four types of performance: task performance, dedicative performance, interpersonal performance, and adaptive performance. Third, the study projects that external regulation might affect task performance and dedicative performance.

Research Strategy

This study adopts the survey research strategy. According to Saunders et al. (2016), surveys are popular as they allow researcher to collect large amount of data from a sizeable population in an economic way and owing to time and financial constraints, the survey strategy is appropriate for this study. In addition, the survey strategy gives a researcher control over the research process (Mukhopadhyay and Gupta 2014), which will allow the collection of data that best answers the research question. However, Gray (2019) notes that a major limitation of the survey strategy is collection of data that is not wide-ranging compared to data collected using other research strategies. To overcome this limitation, this study will use two sets of questionnaires (work motivation questionnaire and work performance questionnaire) each having several items, which will ensure the researcher collects as much information as possible using the questionnaires. This study is quantitative in nature: uses questionnaire as the quantitative data collection technique and quantitatively analyses this data using descriptive analysis.

Methodology

This study purely uses quantitative techniques and procedures thus adopts the mono-method research methodology. A single data collection technique (questionnaire) is used and a corresponding analysis procedure adopted. The collected information will be presented in tables and figures that graphically show the relationship between employee motivation and work performance. This study will adopt the cross-sectional time horizon. According to Saunders et al. (2016), the cross-sectional time horizon is more like a snapshot taken at a particular time. This study is undertaken for academic purpose and is also time-constrained therefore conducting it at a particular time is more appropriate. With the survey strategy, the study will be able to collect the required information over a short period of time and test the study hypotheses. If all the hypotheses are not met or some are partially met, the study will highlight this and make suggestions for future researchers.

Technique and Procedures

The population of this study is all firms in the Nigerian brewery industry as well as their employees. However, these firms and their employees could be too many hindering the researcher’s ability to collect data from each of them. For this reason, a subset of the entire population that is representative of the population (sample) will be selected. Five organisations will be selected from the Nigerian brewery industry using the convenience sampling technique. However, the number of employees in these firms could be too high, which underscores the need to select a small sample. In this case, the purposive sampling technique will be adopted and persons at the management level will be preferred given they understand the employee motivational strategies adopted by these organisations. A sample of 25 managers will be selected for this study.

Data Analysis

Descriptive analysis will be adopted for this study. Zook and Pearce (2018) write that descriptive analysis helps a researcher to describe the collected data using diagrams. In this study, tables and figures will be used to describe the relationship between employee motivation and work performance.

Ethical Considerations

This study will consider a number of ethical issues. First, the researcher will seek approval to conduct the study in the identified organisations. Second, a voluntary nature of participation will be observed; participants will be required to sign a consent form as an indication that informed consent was sought. Participants will also be free to withdraw and will whether partially or completely from this study. Third, the privacy of the study participants will be maintained. Fourth, confidentiality of the collected data will be maintained and names or other identifying information will not be required throughout the research process. After data analysis and discussion as well as approval of the research, the questionnaires will be permanently destroyed.

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