In this paper, we explore with a model the potential tensions between the incentive system of groups of inventors and knowledge diversity in a high tech firm. We show that, when all groups are rewarded and able to interact freely with their peers, extrinsic and intrinsic motives are mutually self-reinforcing, leading to crowding in effects. As a result, the level of created knowledge increases in each group, reinforcing the diversity of the firm’s knowledge base. By contrast, competitive rewards and constrained autonomy are likely to produce motivating effects in a small number of groups, limiting knowledge creation to the firm’s core competencies. In this case, the firm can suffer from crowding out effects by the other groups, leading eventually to the extinction of creation in their fields and reduced diversity in the long run. The results are illustrated with empirical findings from a case study of a French high tech firm.

Do Incentive Systems Spur Work Motivation of Inventors in High Tech Firms ? A Group-Based Perspective

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Pace, Academic Progress, and the Antecedents of Student Motivation

Intrinsic, extrinsic, and Maslowian motivation (specifically, self-actualization) are synthesized to repurpose traditional expectancy theory (in which motivational force is a product of valence, instrumentality, and expectancy) to accommodate the subjective human experience. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are rationalized as a single theoretical construct in the context of self-actualization. Self-actualization is used to reformulate expectancy theory to describe motivational force as a product of the squares of the valence that a person associates with an outcome, and his/her perceived ability to achieve the outcome. Discussion centers on the relative power of motivational force, motivation as a uniquely person-centered phenomenon, and implications in path-goal leadership theory.

Aaron Randall Hiatt

Papers

A Person-Centered Expectancy Motivation Model

Pace, Academic Progress, and the Antecedents of Student Motivation