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How context creates motivation: The effects of social context in a situation of job insecurity - a case study

Veldhuisen, Carmen LU and Bergsma, Joyce (2015) BUSN49 20151
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
This research project provides insights in how knowledge workers make sense of their context of job insecurity in terms of motivation and aims to develop a theoretical understanding on motivation from a more conceptual point of view. There are several universally acknowledged motivation theories that claim to explain what motivates people. According to these theories, the job-threatening situation of our research should result in a lasting decrease in motivation. However, our findings suggest otherwise. Job insecurity does not necessarily lead to a lasting decrease in motivation, as the meaning making process of knowledge workers is determined interactively. The interactive aspects culture, norms, morals and identity influence what... (More)
This research project provides insights in how knowledge workers make sense of their context of job insecurity in terms of motivation and aims to develop a theoretical understanding on motivation from a more conceptual point of view. There are several universally acknowledged motivation theories that claim to explain what motivates people. According to these theories, the job-threatening situation of our research should result in a lasting decrease in motivation. However, our findings suggest otherwise. Job insecurity does not necessarily lead to a lasting decrease in motivation, as the meaning making process of knowledge workers is determined interactively. The interactive aspects culture, norms, morals and identity influence what motivates knowledge workers. From the findings of this research that highlight the complexity of the meaning making process of knowledge workers, we can conclude that there is no magic formula that generates motivation. This research contributes to the motivation literature by applying the ‘motivation triangle theory’ to a real life context for the first time in order to understand motivation from a socio-cultural perspective. As such, we also contribute by testing its validity and usability, even though it cannot be generalized (yet). (Less)
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author
Veldhuisen, Carmen LU and Bergsma, Joyce
supervisor
organization
course
BUSN49 20151
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
reorganization, downsizing, redundancy, knowledge workers, interactive motivation, motivation triangle, job insecurity, Motivation
language
English
id
7409785
date added to LUP
2015-06-24 13:39:16
date last changed
2015-06-24 13:39:16
@misc{7409785,
  abstract     = {{This research project provides insights in how knowledge workers make sense of their context of job insecurity in terms of motivation and aims to develop a theoretical understanding on motivation from a more conceptual point of view. There are several universally acknowledged motivation theories that claim to explain what motivates people. According to these theories, the job-threatening situation of our research should result in a lasting decrease in motivation. However, our findings suggest otherwise. Job insecurity does not necessarily lead to a lasting decrease in motivation, as the meaning making process of knowledge workers is determined interactively. The interactive aspects culture, norms, morals and identity influence what motivates knowledge workers. From the findings of this research that highlight the complexity of the meaning making process of knowledge workers, we can conclude that there is no magic formula that generates motivation. This research contributes to the motivation literature by applying the ‘motivation triangle theory’ to a real life context for the first time in order to understand motivation from a socio-cultural perspective. As such, we also contribute by testing its validity and usability, even though it cannot be generalized (yet).}},
  author       = {{Veldhuisen, Carmen and Bergsma, Joyce}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{How context creates motivation: The effects of social context in a situation of job insecurity - a case study}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}