Motivating protégés' personal learning in teams: A multilevel investigation of autonomy support and autonomy orientation.

Abstract

This study examined the roles of 3 multilevel motivational predictors in protégés' personal learning in teams: an autonomy-supportive team climate, mentors' autonomy support, and protégés' autonomy orientation. The authors followed 305 protégés in 58 teams for 12 weeks and found that all 3 predictors were positively related to the protégés' personal learning in teams and that an autonomy-supportive team climate augmented the effects of mentors' autonomy support and protégés' autonomy orientation on protégés' personal learning in teams. Protégés' personal learning in teams mediated the interactive effects of an autonomy-supportive team climate with mentors' autonomy support or protégés' autonomy orientation on protégés' behavioral and attitudinal outcomes, including their organizational citizenship behaviors and job involvement. The findings of this study provide business researchers and practitioners with valuable insights into the management of autonomy.