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© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Self-determination Theory differentiates various types of motivation, each of which have different consequences for well-being and behavior. Despite broad agreement concerning the nature of different types of motivation, numerous scoring methods, each of which rely on different assumptions, are commonly practiced. These practices range from a relative autonomy index that collapses all types of motivation into a single index, higher-order models grouping subscales into a two-factor solution, to multi-factorial approaches examining all motivation types as separate constructs. Existing evidence has not empirically compared these methods or clearly favored the use of one over another. We review each method and further investigate the advantages and disadvantages of each approach by directly comparing a range of commonly utilized scoring methods, as well as recently developed methods across six independent samples from various life domains to determine their effectiveness. Results generally favor multidimensional methods (e.g., exploratory structural equation modeling, B-ESEM, and CFA) as more comprehensive scoring practices as they maximize construct relevant information. However, selection of an ideal method will rely on theoretical congruence between methodology and research questions.

© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis. This study extends the research and theory on work motivation by examining temporal stability and change in employees’ self-determined work motivation profiles and their differential relations to various predictors and outcomes. We gathered data at two time points over a 24-month period from a sample of 438 newly registered public health care nurses. Results of latent profile and latent transition analyses revealed four distinct profiles (strongly, moderately, self-determined, and poorly motivated), estimated from the position of global and specific behavioural regulations on the motivation continuum proposed by self-determination theory. These profiles were entirely stable at the within-sample level, although within-person changes in profile membership occurred for 30–40% of employees. Of particular interest, perceptions of job resources were consistently associated with greater likelihood of membership in the strongly and moderately motivated profiles. These profiles were also consistently associated with lower emotional exhaustion and intentions to leave the occupation and the organization and with higher in-role performance compared to the self-determined and poorly motivated profiles.

© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. We investigate a novel approach to newcomer socialization based on self-determination theory (SDT). A core assumption of SDT is that when social contexts support basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, people are more likely to integrate new experience effectively and thrive in their environment. We sought to examine the role of psychological need support within the context of newcomer socialization and the period of early entry where newcomers learn their new role and become integrated within the organization. We propose that organizational socialization tactics and perceived autonomy-supportive supervision jointly influence newcomers’ basic psychological needs and, in turn, their organizational commitment and withdrawal cognitions. Results from structural equation modeling analyses from a time-lagged study of 489 MBA interns supported our hypothesized model. There were significant indirect effects of institutionalized socialization tactics and supervisor autonomy support on both affective organizational commitment and withdrawal cognitions, via psychological need satisfaction. Use of institutionalized tactics also was negatively associated with interns’ specific need for autonomy, suggesting that individualized tactics may play a role in supporting newcomers’ sense of self-determination. A post hoc moderation analysis further suggested a substitutive pattern in the interaction between supervisor autonomy support and institutionalized tactics, emphasizing the central role that supervisors play in newcomer socialization, particularly when it pertains to newcomers’ psychological need satisfaction. Our results indicate that SDT is a promising theoretical framework for studying newcomer adjustment.

The importance and influence of feedback is well-established in the literature (Hattie, 2009). The purpose of feedback is to improve learning (Voerman, Meijer, Korthagen, & Simons, 2012) by reducing discrepancies (Hattie, 2007), closing gaps (Sadler, 2010), and improving one's knowledge, and skill acquisition (Moreno, 2004). However, there is disjuncture concerning the effectiveness of unilateral or one-way feedback. Unilateral feedback has been critiqued for its failure to productively engage, guide learning, and monitor performance (Price, Handley, & Millar, 2011; Sadler, 1989). Despite calls to focus feedback on student learning outcomes (Hattie, 2009; Voerman et al., 2012), a third of feedback interventions have reported a decrease in student performance (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996). Research informs that feedback that focuses on self instead of task inhibits learning (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996; Shute, 2008). On the other hand, feedback that focuses on self-regulation, task, and cognitive processing enhances learning (Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Shute, 2008). However, teachers are observed delivering one-way feedback, rather than facilitating learning (Blair & Ginty, 2013; Van den Berghe, Ros, & Beijaard, 2013), and appear ‘to close down opportunities for exploring student learning rather than opening them up’ (Torrance & Pryor, 1988, p. 621). That is, self-focussed unilateral feedbackthwarts the potential to promote learning (Burke, 2009).

© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Organisational research investigating climate perceptions often use constructs reflecting dispersion and disagreement, termed ‘climate strength’, to investigate situational pressures on behaviour expression. Within safety-specific contexts, research has tended to emphasise the prediction of climate strength rather than an examination of its effects on behaviour. The present paper investigates the important first pathway in the prediction of safety behaviour by investigating the influence of safety climate strength on the relationship between safety climate perceptions and individual safety motivation in a safety critical context using multilevel analyses. Contrary to expectations, results initially indicated that safety climate strength negatively influenced the relationship between safety climate perceptions and safety motivation, such that greater variability was associated with greater motivation. Post hoc analysis re-grouping responses into broader functional levels found support for an interaction, suggesting a difference in the scope of influence for safety climate strength between the two levels of analysis. These findings are discussed in light of self-determination theory, and suggestions for future research and practice made.

© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Self-determination theory presents a multi-dimensional approach to human motivation in which motivation is driven by a range of classifiably distinct regulation styles. However, these different regulations are also considered to fall along a continuum of self-determination which implies that a global dimension reflecting the degree of self-determination present is important. The lack of explicit integration between these two aspects in the conceptualization of motivation has recently led to debates and a flux of research on the structure of motivation as defined in self-determination theory. This review comprehensively explores recent advances in this area as well as more classical approaches in order to establish an optimal and empirically supported conceptualization of motivation. A novel solution is proposed, namely a semi-radex structure of motivation, in which types of motivation are predictably ordered by degree of self-determination while also maintaining their unique contribution as distinct factors. Theoretical and practical implications for researchers who use self-determination theory are made.

Safety researchers and practitioners seeking to have a long lasting impact on important variables such as safety climate typically investigate constructs operating within the immediate organisational environment such as leader support. These frequently have an impact on individual level perceptions. This paper contributes to theoretical development in this area by examining the impact of positive forms of leader support and negative forms such as passive management by exception on safety climate and safety climate strength (i.e. consistency in safety climate perceptions within a group). Results provide strong evidence for the negative influence of passive management by exception on safety climate strength across time and concur and support previous research demonstrating significant positive relationships between safety climate perceptions across time. Importantly, the impact of passive management by exception on safety climate strength flowed through to a cross-level moderation of the relationship between individual conscientiousness and role clarity suggesting that both leaders and safety climate strength fundamentally change individual behaviour. The results suggest an important potential for intervention work specifically correcting leadership styles which are passive to instead encourage proactivity in order to improve group safety climate strength and individual role clarity. In addition, the results indicate that safety climate constructs are highly related across time and efforts to change perceptions may lie earlier in the nomological network.

This study examines profiles of undergraduate students defined based on their types of behavioral regulation, as proposed by self-determination theory, as well as the similarity of these academic motivation profiles as a function of gender and age. This research also documents the implications of these profiles for students' vitality and investigates the role of maternal and paternal involvement, autonomy support, and warmth in predicting profile membership. A total of 1072 undergraduate students participated in this study (Mage = 22.7 years; 58.4% female). To test for profile similarity, participants were divided into three age categories. Latent profile analyses revealed five distinct motivation profiles: Knowledge-Oriented, Controlled, Multifaceted, Unmotivated, and Hedonist profiles. These profiles, as well as their associations with the covariates, were similar across gender and age groups. Students' level of vitality varied across profiles and was higher in the Hedonist and Knowledge-Oriented profiles, whereas both parents' warmth predicted membership in profiles characterized by high levels of intrinsic motivation.

© 2020, Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience. Current high turnover rates among emergency services volunteers are concerning given the pivotal role they play in emergency services organisations. Each 'lost' volunteer reflects a loss of valuable skills and experience on top of the financial loss associated with training.

In 2018, The University of Western Australia and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) collaborated to obtain more information on the current state of volunteering in Western Australia (WA), specifically on volunteer recruitment, retention, wellbeing, and diversity within the State Emergency Service (SES). The key survey information and findings are presented below

© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Drawing on stress appraisal and self-determination theories, we hypothesized that the more requirements of performance-based pay are appraised as a challenge, the more individuals will feel less strain and be more prosocial, and that these effects will be explained by autonomous motivations. Conversely, the more requirements of performance-based pay are appraised as a hindrance, the more individuals will feel more strain and be less prosocial, and these effects will be explained by controlled motivations. An experiment (N = 82) provided support for the mediational hypotheses regarding challenge appraisal, intrinsic motivation, and the strain outcomes of anxiety and fatigue. Hindrance appraisal was found to directly reduce prosocial behaviour (as coded in task responses). Furthermore, in reward conditions that were directly performance-salient, hindrance appraisal resulted in greater fatigue. A field study (N = 322) revealed further support for the hypotheses on emotional exhaustion and organizational citizenship. Overall, there was support for the role of autonomous forms of motivation as mechanisms in these associations, but less support for controlled forms of motivation. Thus, stress appraisals of performance-based pay can improve our understanding of when “collateral damage” effects of extrinsic rewards can occur (i.e., when requirements are viewed as hindering). Moreover, effects of stress appraisals can be partially explained by different qualities of motivation from the self-determination theory perspective.

© 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Surprisingly scant research has adequately examined directional influences between different perceptions of managerial leadership behaviors and different types of work motivation, and even fewer studies have examined contextual moderators of these influences. The present study investigated longitudinal and multilevel autoregressive cross-lagged relations between perceptions of transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership with autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and amotivation. Multilevel longitudinal models were estimated on data from 788 employees, nested under 108 distinct supervisors, from six Canadian organizations. Results revealed that perceptions of leadership behaviors predicted changes in motivation mostly at the collective level and that some of these relations changed as a function of whether organizations had recently faced a crisis. Collective perceptions of transformational leadership were related to increased collective autonomous and controlled motivation, while individual controlled motivation was related to increased individual perceptions of transactional leadership. In organizations facing a crisis, individual perceptions of transactional leadership were related to decreased individual controlled motivation, while collective perceptions of transactional leadership were related to increased collective autonomous motivation and decreased collective amotivation. In organizations not facing a crisis, collective perceptions of transactional leadership were related to decreased collective autonomous motivation. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Given increasingly diversified communities and the importance of attracting and retaining all volunteers irrespective of their demographic background, it is important to increase the representativeness of volunteers by promoting diversity. We surveyed emergency services volunteers from Western Australia to examine (a) whether and why culture of inclusiveness plays an important role for volunteer retention and (b) whether and why female volunteers have different perceptions of inclusivity culture in their units. Our findings demonstrated that climate for inclusion played a vital role for volunteer retention because in such climates they felt connected and related to others, and felt freedom to express themselves professionally. Despite the importance of climate for inclusion, male and female volunteers viewed this climate differently and experienced different outcomes. Female volunteers perceived marginally lower levels of climate of inclusion than men. As hypothesised, female volunteers felt more connected to their teammates in inclusive climates integrative of differences. Unexpectedly, female volunteers’ relatedness needs were less likely to be fulfilled in inclusive climates where they were included into decision-making.

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Little research to date has focused on understanding employee motivation to share and hide knowledge. Using self-determination theory, we tested the premise that knowledge sharing and hiding might be differentially motivated and that work design characteristics might influence the motivation to share knowledge with colleagues. In a panel survey of Australian knowledge workers and in a Chinese knowledge-intensive organization, we asked knowledge workers, using time-lagged designs, about perceptions of work design, motivation to share knowledge, and self-reported knowledge sharing and hiding behaviors. Results, largely replicated across both samples, indicated that cognitive job demands and job autonomy were positively related to future reports of knowledge-sharing frequency and usefulness via autonomous motivation to share knowledge. Unexpectedly, task interdependence was positively related to the three forms of knowledge hiding (evasive and rationalized hiding, and playing dumb) via external regulation to share knowledge. Implications for the design of jobs that motivate knowledge sharing and demotivate knowledge hiding are discussed.

Purpose: Volunteers give their time freely, in contrast to employees who also work for financial reasons. Therefore, feelings of fit may be even more important to retain volunteers than for employees. Yet, fit has scarcely been investigated in volunteers. Using a two-wave survey study, we investigated the consequences of complementary (i.e., demands-ability and needs-supplies) volunteer fit through the lens of the Self-Determination Theory. Specifically, we investigated the effect of fit on volunteer retention through changes in need satisfaction (feeling related, competent, and autonomous) and motivation (amotivation, extrinsic, and autonomous). Design: One year apart, 612 volunteers completed two largely identical surveys. These surveys included adapted measures of 1) demands-abilities and needs-supplies fit, 2) psychological need satisfaction, 3) volunteer motivation, and 4) intentions to keep volunteering. Results: Overall, using regression and relative weight analyses, the results showed that increases in demands-abilities (R2=.03) and need-supplies (R2=.02) fit both led to small increases in need satisfaction. Next, increases in need satisfaction were related to decreases in amotivation (R2=.05), no change in extrinsic motivation (R2=.01), and increases in autonomous motivation (R2=.04). Finally, increases in motivation we barely related to intentions to remain a volunteer (respectively R2=.05, .01, and .02). Limitations/Implications: The present study indicates that changes in volunteers’ demands-abilities and need-supplies fit lead to very small changes in important individual and organisational outcomes. Therefore, improving fit may not be an effective way to improve volunteer retention. Future research could study volunteer fit with motivation frameworks that are specific to volunteers, such as the ‘volunteer functions’.

This study examines profiles of undergraduate students defined based on their types of behavioral regulation, as proposed by self-determination theory, as well as the similarity of these academic motivation profiles as a function of gender and age. This research also documents the implications of these profiles for students’ vitality and investigates the role of maternal and paternal involvement, autonomy support, and warmth in predicting profile membership. A total of 1072 undergraduate students participated in this study (Mage = 22.7 years; 58.4% female). To test for profile similarity, participants were divided into three age categories. Latent profile analyses revealed five distinct motivation profiles: Knowledge-Oriented, Controlled, Multifaceted, Unmotivated, and Hedonist profiles. These profiles, as well as their associations with the covariates, were similar across gender and age groups. Students’ level of vitality varied across profiles and was higher in the Hedonist and Knowledge-Oriented profiles, whereas both parents’ warmth predicted membership in profiles characterized by high levels of intrinsic motivation.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model to explain and predict how organizational goals are transformed into organizational behavior. Using the theory of action phases as the overarching framework to explain how organizations and employees commit to goals and successfully pursue them, in conjunction with self-determination theory to explain the development of goal commitment at the individual level, a motivational model of organizational goal pursuit is proposed. This model takes into consideration mission and strategic goal development, organizational-level implementation intentions in the form of strategic plans and dynamic capabilities, individual goal internalization, and implementation plans at the individual level. These goal phases are proposed to be affected by the attraction, selection, socialization and management of organizational members. The model can serve to develop knowledge in the area of behavioral strategy by integrating motivational considerations into strategic management models.

© 2018, Springer Nature B.V. Teacher-student interactions are fundamental to learning outcomes. However, the facilitation of student-defined, in-class two-way feedback interaction is under-researched. The purpose of this paper is to share insights from Year 9 students (N = 32; age = 14–15 years), describing effective teacher’s two-way feedback interaction through Respectful Inquiry (RI; asking questions, question openness, and attentive listening). Small-focussed group interviews were conducted and transcripts were inductively analysed to represent the conceptualised effective student-described teacher behaviour and associated learning outcomes. Findings confirm that two-way feedback, as opposed to unilateral teacher feedback, is facilitative of more diverse and higher-order learning outcomes. According to the students, RI is constitutive in the two-way feedback interaction process; executed together, positive psychological needs support and metacognition are fostered. While this research was exploratory, the findings offer practical and novel insights on teachers’ two-way feedback interactions that can enhance students’ metacognition and suggests how specific feedback behaviours augment higher-order learning outcomes.

© The Author(s) 2016. This paper explores the nature of workplace motivation by testing the continuum structure of motivation proposed by self-determination theory through the application of relatively new and advanced methodological techniques. Specifically, we demonstrate the usefulness of the overarching bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling framework in organizational psychology and discuss implications of such models over more traditional confirmatory factor analyses. This framework is applied to responses obtained from 1,124 Canadian employees who completed a multidimensional measure of workplace motivation. The results support a continuum of self-regulation and illustrate the importance of accounting for quality of motivation in addition to its global quantity. Indeed, the results showed that specific types of motivation explained variance in covariates over and above the variance already explained by the global quantity of self-determination. The current study further demonstrates the limitation of the commonly used relative autonomy index and offers alternate conceptualizations of human motivation.

The 2011 Organizational Research Methods Feature Topic on latent class procedures has helped to establish person-centered analyses as a method of choice in the organizational sciences. This establishment has contributed to the generation of substantive-methodological synergies leading to a better understanding of a variety of organizational phenomena and to an improvement in research methodologies. The present Feature Topic aims to provide a user-friendly introduction to these new methodological developments for applied organizational researchers. Organized around a presentation of the typological, prototypical, and methodologically exploratory nature of person-centered analyses, this introductory article introduces seven contributions aiming to: (a) clarify the meaning, advantages, and applications of person-centered analyses; (b) illustrate emerging prototypical and longitudinal cluster analytic approaches; (c) introduce researchers to multilevel person-centered analyses as well as to auxiliary approaches that will drastically increase the scope of application of these methods; and (d) describe the application of these methods for confirmatory purposes.

© 2017 Safety researchers are frequently faced with a dilemma in field research: whether to increase both participant engagement and the efficiency of their data collection by using brief construct measures, or to instead use exhaustive and thorough measures to capture the full range of statistical variance in relationships of interest. Using a safety climate questionnaire, this study simulated and evaluated a novel method that can be used by safety researchers to reduce the length of surveys. The method involves using a planned missing data design to randomly allocate participants a reduced selection of items using multiple imputation to replace the missing data and produce a complete dataset, thus retaining the full range of items across the studied population. Results from the study indicate that the method provides safety researchers and practitioners with acceptable levels of model fit, and is able to demonstrate predictive validity. Advantages and disadvantages of the planned missing data design method in field research are discussed.