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Self‐determination theory and work motivation
Author(s) -
Gagné Marylène,
Deci Edward L.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of organizational behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.938
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1099-1379
pISSN - 0894-3796
DOI - 10.1002/job.322
Subject(s) - self determination theory , cognitive evaluation theory , work motivation , psychology , autonomy , intrinsic motivation , motivation theory , goal theory , social psychology , relevance (law) , employee motivation , work (physics) , theory x and theory y , cognitive psychology , organizational commitment , organizational studies , organizational engineering , mechanical engineering , political science , law , engineering
Cognitive evaluation theory, which explains the effects of extrinsic motivators on intrinsic motivation, received some initial attention in the organizational literature. However, the simple dichotomy between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation made the theory difficult to apply to work settings. Differentiating extrinsic motivation into types that differ in their degree of autonomy led to self‐determination theory, which has received widespread attention in the education, health care, and sport domains. This article describes self‐determination theory as a theory of work motivation and shows its relevance to theories of organizational behavior. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.