The Motivational Intensity of Values: Study Among American and Romanian Business Students

Abstract

The motivational intensity of values is a new concept that can be measured by using a mathematical model, created through the analysis of US and Romanian business school students' perceptions. The objectives of our study are to identify the sets of values with maximum motivational intensities, to highlight the differences between the groups, and to find out if students' demographic characteristics (country, gender and social status) influence the motivational intensities of eight sets of values. The findings provide clear evidence that 'country' has a significant statistical impact only on the motivational intensities of aesthetic and cultural values (more motivating to Romanians), spiritual and religious values, and moral and philanthropic values (more motivating to US). Descriptive, but also regression results suggest that 'gender' is an explanatory variable only for spiritual and religious values (with a higher motivational intensity for females than males). Implications, limitations and future research opportunities are also discussed.