An Empirical Assessment of Salesperson Motivation,Commitment, and Job Outcomes

This study contributes to the efforts to integrate work commitment constructs into the long-dominant expectancy theory framework of salesforce motivation and performance. Responses were gathered from 231 industrial salespeople in order to: 1) provide evidence concerning discriminant and convergent validity of two measures of work commitment and 2) distinguish expectancy and commitment constructs; and investigate the relationships between motivation, commitment, and two important outcomes—effort and performance. The results of the study indicate that conceptual and empirical differences do exist between commitment variables and expectancy-based motivation variables. Job commitment and extrinsic motivation are found to be related to salesperson effort, which in turn is related to salesperson performance.     

The dynamics of avoidance goal regulation

An avoidance goal is an undesired state from which a person seeks to distance themselves. Though important for understanding behavior, avoidance goals have received less attention than approach goals. In this paper, we present a dynamic, formal model that provides a framework for describing and predicting the dynamics of avoidance goal regulation. We conduct a series of simulations to examine the dynamic pattern of behavior that emerges from the model when an avoidance goal is pursued in isolation and when an approach goal is also present. Two versions of the model were examined. In the first, the avoidance goal is regulated by a positive feedback loop. In the second, the avoidance goal is regulated by a negative feedback loop. We find that the positive feedback model produces a pattern of runaway behavior, even in a scenario where an approach goal is also present. By contrast, the negative feedback loop model produces a stable pattern of behavior that is more consistent with existing theory. The findings provide an important step toward theoretical parsimony by demonstrating that avoidance goal regulation, like approach goal regulation, can be understood using a negative feedback control system framework. We discuss new insights provided by this model and its potential to spark empirical research.     

Employee commitment and well-being: A critical review, theoretical framework and research agenda

Although a great deal is known about the implications of employee commitment for organizations, less attention has been paid to its ramifications for employees themselves. Previous research has been unsystematic and the findings have sometimes been inconsistent. The most consistent findings pertain to the positive links between affective commitment and employee well-being. Relations between continuance commitment and well-being are more variable, but generally negative. Little is known about relations involving normative commitment. There is considerable inconsistency in findings pertaining to the moderating effects of commitment on stressor-strain relations. We provide a theoretical framework based on an integration of the three-component model of commitment (Meyer & Allen, 1997) and Deci and Ryan's (1985) self-determination theory of motivation to help explain both the consistencies and inconsistencies, and to guide future research. We also argue for a broadening of the concept of employee well-being to include indices of eudaimonic as well as hedonic well-being.     

Linking Feedback Quality and Goal Orientation to Feedback Seeking and Job Performance

Contemporary feedback researchers have adopted theoretical perspectives in which personal characteristics interact with aspects of the feedback environment to influence feedback-related perceptions, feedback seeking, and job performance. To test these assertions, this study incorporates implicit person theory, uncertainty reduction theory, and Korman's theory of work motivation (2001) to develop a model that links a critical aspect of the feedback environment (feedback quality) and goal orientation to perceptions of feedback utility, feedback seeking, role clarity, and task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors. Results from supervisor–subordinate dyadic data (N?=?202) obtained from employed students largely support the hypothesized model. Implications are discussed.     

Does Positive Perception of Oneself Boost Learning Motivation and Performance?

We examine whether core self‐evaluations (CSEs) affect learning motivation and performance beyond individual‐level established predictors of general mental ability and conscientiousness. Based on self‐regulation theories, we develop and test a process model, whereby learning motivation mediates the effects of CSE on performance. We also compare the explanatory value of single and multidimensional models of learning motivation. Using a longitudinal design and data from 631 students, we provide support for the proposed model, indicating the usefulness of CSE as another important, indirect predictor of performance in a learning setting via multiple dimensions of learning motivation: self‐efficacy, goal setting, and goal commitment. The results also indicate the superiority of the multidimensional model of learning motivation over the unidimensional model of learning motivation as a mediator. We conclude with the discussion of theoretical and practical implications of this finding for management education.     

Dynamics of self-regulation: How (un)accomplished goal actions affect motivation

Two factors increase the motivation to adhere to a goal: goal commitment and lack of goal progress. When people ask about commitment, focusing on what they have accomplished (to date) signals to them high commitment and increases motivation. Conversely, when commitment is certain and people ask about goal progress, focusing on what they have yet to accomplish (to go) signals to them lack of progress and increases motivation. Accordingly, 4 studies show that emphasizing to-date information increases goal adherence when commitment is uncertain--that is, when participants study for a relatively unimportant exam, consume luxuries, fulfill a desire, and make first-time contributions to a charity. Conversely, emphasizing to-go information increases goal adherence when commitment is certain--that is, when participants study for an important exam, consume necessities, fulfill a need, and make repeated contributions to a charity.     

Commitment to change from locomotion motivation during deliberation

The factors that motivate commitment to behavioral change (e.g., quitting smoking) are important in understanding self-regulation processes. The current research examines how an individual??s motivational orientation during deliberation affects the likelihood that they will commit to change. Building on the insights of regulatory mode theory (Higgins et al. in Advances in experimental social psychology. Academic Press, New York, vol 35, pp 293?C344, 2003), we propose that increased commitment to change can result from increased locomotion motivation in the deliberation phase. Three studies provide evidence that increased commitment to change is related to locomotion motivation arising either from a chronic orientation or from a movement-focused deliberation tactic that intensifies that orientation. Although locomotion motivation is typically associated with goal pursuit, the current work highlights the impact that locomotion motivation can have on commitment to change in the initial deliberation phase.     

安全动机在安全绩效模型中的作用：自我决定理论的视角

在日常工作中, 安全动机是员工保持安全行为的重要决定因素。安全动机对安全绩效的影响虽然已引起研究者的关注, 但相关的实证研究缺少清晰的理论界定和有效的测量工具。本项目拟在安全绩效模型的基础上, 借鉴自我决定理论对动机的分类, 将安全动机的类型进行扩展, 并在多层次模型中探讨安全动机在变革型领导、个体特征和安全绩效之间的中介作用, 以及在中国管理背景下可能存在的边界条件。研究将结合访谈、问卷和情境实验等方法对上述变量间关系进行相关和因果关系的探讨。本项目将自我决定理论与安全绩效模型相结合, 可以为安全研究的动机理论发展做出贡献; 研究结果亦可为安全管理实践提供评价工具和有效指导。     

Control theory and understanding motivated behavior: A different conclusion

In the preceding article it was argued that control theory is not a useful paradigm for understanding work motivation. In doing so, three primary criticisms were presented: (a) that control theory, as originally formulated, does not adequately describe human behavior, (b) that modifications of control theory to describe human behavior have not been successful, and (c) that the use of logical deductions to develop a control theory model of work motivation is less efficacious than a grounded theory approach. In this reply, it will be shown that (a) the first criticism is not incorrect but is an inappropriate basis for criticism, (b) statements regarding modified control theory models are either inaccurate or premature, and (c) both inductive and deductive reasoning play an important role in theory development. In addressing these issues and in discussing the distinct advantages of current control theory models it will be shown that control theory does provide a viable paradigm for understanding work motivation.Thanks to John R. Hollenbeck for his helpful comments on this paper.     

A matter of perspective: why past moral behavior can sometimes encourage and other times discourage future moral striving

In this paper, we investigate the role of different perspectives people take on their past moral and nonmoral behavior. Across two experiments, we show that when people focus on progress toward personal goals, past moral behavior leads to less future moral striving compared to past nonmoral behavior. However, when people focus on commitment toward personal goals, past moral behavior tends to lead to more future moral striving compared to past nonmoral behavior. Our results integrate seemingly contradictive empirical evidence from past research, relying on the overarching theoretical framework of goal regulation theory.     

Proactive Goal Generation and Innovative Work Behavior: The Moderating Role of Affective Commitment,Production Ownership and Leader Support for Innovation

Building on goal‐regulation theory, we develop and test the hypothesis that proactive goal generation fosters individual innovative work behavior. Consistent with a resource‐based perspective, we further examine two‐three‐way interactions to assess whether the link between proactive goal generation and innovative behavior is jointly moderated by organizational affective commitment and production ownership, or, alternatively, leader support for innovation. In a sample of 442 municipal employees from the administrative division of an Italian city hall, proactive goal generation was positively associated with innovative work behavior. Additionally, as expected, this relationship was stronger when employees were highly affectively committed to their organization and when they exhibited a high level of production ownership or received extensive support for innovation from their supervisors. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

动机的结构与效应：基于动机连续体的视角

动机连续体是对内部动机、外部动机进行整合的心理学概念,其对内部动机和外部动机的争论提出了不同的假设。从大理论(grand theory)视角出发,对涉及上述两个概念的理论进行梳理,将自我决定理论与其他相关理论进行整合。由此展开对内部动机、外部动机结构的讨论,总结了动机的单维结构、多维结构和复杂结构假设下的理论新进展,分别论述在拮抗效应、累加效应和其他复杂效应等假设下动机对结果变量的影响,并展开不同效应对实践应用的讨论。     

Regulatory focus and work-related outcomes: A review and meta-analysis

Regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997) has received growing attention in organizational psychology, necessitating a quantitative review that synthesizes its effects on important criteria. In addition, there is need for theoretical integration of regulatory focus theory with personality research. Theoretical integration is particularly relevant, since personality traits and dispositions are distal factors that are unlikely to have direct effects on work behaviors, yet they may have indirect effects via regulatory focus. The current meta-analysis introduces an integrative framework in which the effects of personality on work behaviors are best understood when considered in conjunction with more proximal motivational processes such as regulatory focus. Using a distal-proximal approach, we identify personality antecedents and work-related consequences of regulatory foci in a framework that considers both general and work-specific regulatory foci as proximal motivational processes. We present meta-analytic results for relations of regulatory focus with its antecedents (approach and avoid temperaments, conscientiousness, openness to experience, agreeableness, self-esteem, and self-efficacy) and its consequences (work behaviors and attitudes). In addition to estimates of bivariate relationships, we support a meta-analytic path model in which distal personality traits relate to work behaviors via the mediating effects of general and work-specific regulatory focus. Results from tests of incremental and relative validity indicated that regulatory foci predict unique variance in work behaviors after controlling for established personality, motivation, and attitudinal predictors. Consistent with regulatory focus theory and our integrative theoretical framework, regulatory focus has meaningful relations with work outcomes and is not redundant with other individual difference variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Goal Commitment Buffers the Negative Effects of Perceived Abusive Supervision

Abstract

The effects of abusive supervision may be more intricate than what reason would suggest. To examine why individuals may respond differently to perceptions of supervisor abusive, this study relies on goal-setting theory to present a model that accounts for the influence of abusive supervision on job performance and organizational deviance. To be precise, motivation control and self-defeating cognition are proposed to mediate the interaction of perceived abusive supervision with goal commitment in predicting organizational deviance and job performance. In particular, the extent to which goal commitment alleviates the deleterious effects of abusive supervision is examined such that when goal commitment is high, the indirect effects of perceived abusive supervision on job performance and organizational deviance via motivation control and self-defeating cognition were predicted to be weaker. The proposed model was supported by multisource and multiwave data. The understanding of when the deleterious effects of supervisor abuse as perceived by followers are likely might help the human resource personnel to adopt measures that buffer against such outcomes.     

建言采纳如何促进员工建言：基于目标自组织视角的整合机制

文章探讨了领导者建言采纳促进员工建言的理论基础、作用机制及其对发展建言研究的意义。通过引入个体心理的自组织目标系统理论, 整合了员工建言研究的动机视角和认知视角, 构建了建言的目标自组织观点。在此基础上, 分析和检验了工作意义感和建言效能感在领导者建言采纳促进员工建言的关系中所起的中介作用。通过问卷调查收集了来自73位领导者与236位员工的纵向数据, 结果显示：(1)领导者的建言采纳对员工的促进性/抑制性建言均具有显著的促进作用; (2)工作意义感和建言效能感在领导者建言采纳与员工建言行为的关系中起到完全中介作用。研究结果发展了对建言行为形成机制的认识, 促进了建言研究的理论发展, 并对管理实践有着积极的启示。     

削弱效应是否存在：工作场所中内外动机的关系

外部动机是否削弱内部动机？已有研究结论并不一致。澄清这一问题的有效途径是对外部动机的恰当分类。研究以165名企业员工为研究对象, 针对动机的动态性特点, 采用两时点纵向研究的方法, 以自我决定理论对外部动机的分类为基础, 探讨3种不同内化程度的外部动机--外在动机、内射动机和认同动机与内部动机的关系及外部动机内化程度与自主支持的关系。研究结果表明：(1)控制性、非内化的外部动机, 即外在动机和内射动机削弱员工的内部动机; (2)自主性、内化的外部动机, 即认同动机不会削弱员工的内部动机, 而是促进和保护内部动机; (3)自主支持环境促进员工外部动机内化的程度(即认同动机的增加)。最后, 研究对所取得结果的管理意义进行了讨论。     

Viewing exercise goal content through a person-oriented lens: A self-determination perspective

The present study examined profiles of exercise goal content and the associations with need satisfaction, motivation regulation and exercise behavior, combining variable-centered and person-centered analytical approaches. The participants were 1084 (279 men and 805 women) Swedish adults, aged between 18 and 78 years, that were all active members of an Internet-based exercise program. Latent profile analysis (LPA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to analyze the data. In SEM analysis intrinsic goals were related to need satisfaction and autonomous motivation, whereas extrinsic goals were most strongly associated with controlled motivation. LPA revealed five unique latent classes of goal content. These five classes differed in need satisfaction, motivation regulation and exercise behavior, with classes being characterized by more intrinsic goal profiles reporting higher need satisfaction and autonomous motivation. The results are discussed from a self-determination theory perspective and the benefits of using both variable and person-centered analytical approaches are highlighted.     

共情可控?以自上而下视角考察共情的可调节性

以往研究表明共情的特点包括自动化与情境依赖性。但是, 有关共情的理论模型与潜在神经机制仍存有争议。为更好地适应现实需求, 研究重点从共情的结构和功能角度逐渐向塑造和调节共情发展。近年来, 有研究者提出自上而下的心理过程与共情调节有关, 特别是共情的目标表征形式, 以及目标的价值权衡。因此, 考虑到共情的目标导向性对于共情的内部构建与外部表现形式的影响, 建议未来研究考虑从自上而下视角考察共情的可调节性。     

The influence of monetary incentives on goal choice,goal commitment,and task performance

This study was designed to investigate the mechanism by which monetary incentives influence goal choice, goal commitment, and task performance. It is hypothesized that the explanation for incentive effects on goals and performance is in their influence on mediating events. A model attempting to explain the process of goal choice, work motivation, and performance in terms of cognitions is presented. Subjects were recruited for 5 days of part-time employment in a simulated organization to perform a clerical data transfer task. The 130 subjects were assigned randomly to 7 experimental conditions differing in terms of the magnitude of incentive offered for various levels of performance. The quantity and quality of performance was recorded daily and research questionnaires were administered at different times during their employment. Results provide support for the model presented and therefore suggest that the process of goal choice and commitment is central to understanding how incentives influence goals, motivation, and performance. The model provides a useful basis for investigating the relationships between organizational context and employee cognitions and for integrating goal setting with expectancy theory. The findings and future research issues are discussed.     

The Assessment of Goal Commitment: A Measurement Model Meta-Analysis

Goals are central to current treatments of work motivation, and goal commitment is a critical construct in understanding the relationship between goals and performance. Inconsistency in the measurement of goal commitment hindered early research in this area but the nine-item, self-report scale developed by Hollenbeck, Williams, and Klein (1989b), and derivatives of that scale, have become the most commonly used measures of goal commitment. Despite this convergence, a few authors, based on small sample studies, have raised questions about the dimensionality of this measure. To address the conflicting recommendations in the literature regarding what items to use in assessing goal commitment, the current study combines the results of 17 independent samples and 2918 subjects to provide a more conclusive assessment by combining meta-analytic and multisample confirmatory factor analytic techniques. This effort reflects the first combined use of these techniques to test a measurement model and allowed for the creation of a database substantially larger than that of previously factor analyzed samples containing these scale items. By mitigating sampling error, the results clarified a number of debated issues that have arisen out of previous small sample factor analyses and revealed a five-item scale that is unidimensional and equivalent across measurement timing, goal origin, and task complexity. It is recommended that this five-item scale be used in future research assessing goal commitment. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.