Why Do We Work? Empirical Evidence on Work Motivation and the Effects of Management Control System Design on Work Motivation

Abstract

Building on the concept of perceived locus of causality (PLOC), this study examines: 1) whether individual work motivation can be classified with the four orientations in the PLOC framework: intrinsic, identified, introjected, and external; 2) the effects of management control system design choices on each motivational orientation; 3) and the consequences of each motivational orientation on employee behavior. We address these research questions using an online survey of 592 U.S. employees from diverse industries and professions. We have the following findings: First, we develop and validate a scale of PLOC work motivation (PLOC-WM) and find that the four motivational orientations are distinct from each other and multiple motivations coexist within individual respondents. Second, we find that management control systems influence individual motivational orientations, incremental to individual personality effects. Finally, we find that motivational orientations have significant impact on individual effort, creativity, organizational identification, organizational citizenship behavior, and turnover intentions. We make a methodological contribution by developing and validating a scale of PLOC work motivation, which goes beyond the traditional intrinsic/extrinsic dichotomy and recognizes a richer range of motivation orientations. The scale we develop and the empirical evidence we provide on the links between control system design, motivation orientation and employee behavior will advance future accounting research on work motivation.