A Study to Identify Intrinsic Factors Influencing Job Motivation of Employees in the Hotel Industry in Malaysia: A Case Study on THKL, a Five-Star Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract

Employees are a fundamental component of service delivery in hotels. With the outbreak of the pandemic, it has led to significant staff turnovers in the hotel industry in Malaysia. The question is, how to manage and retain the existing talent in the industry, considering that regular travel will be back to normal post the pandemic. The purpose of this study is to identify the extent to which intrinsic factors influence job motivation of employees in the hotel industry in Malaysia, narrowing down to a case study on THKL, a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur where staff turnovers have also been a significant concern lately. To fulfil the purpose of the study, a conceptual framework was developed based on past models and theories of human motivation to derive four intrinsic factors that formed the basis of the four hypotheses that were tested via the conduct of a quantitative mode of research. A total of 99 employees of THKL successfully completed the quantitative questionnaires. To analyse the data collected, SmartPLS version 3.3.3 was employed. The findings revealed that having a sense of purpose at work is positively related to job motivation, for both the white-collar and blue-collar respondents. The need for competence was also positively related to job motivation amongst the blue-collar respondents. However, both autonomy and relatedness need were found to have a negative relationship with job motivation, both for the white-collar and blue-collar respondents. In conclusion, the hotel management can explore the possibility of enhancing their employees’ sense of purpose at work. The hotel can also provide additional educational qualifications to the blue-collar employees who are seeking to improve their competency. Additionally, the hotel leadership can work towards evolving the purpose of the organization for it to become a purpose driven organization.