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Herzberg's two‐factor theory of job attitudes: a critical evaluation and some fresh evidence
Author(s) -
Wall Toby D.,
Stephenson Geoffrey M.
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
industrial relations journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.525
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 1468-2338
pISSN - 0019-8692
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2338.1970.tb00262.x
Subject(s) - job satisfaction , social psychology , job attitude , psychology , job design , job performance , positive economics , economics
This evaluation of Herzberg's theory of motivation discusses its ambiguities and the influence of the tendency for people to give “socially desirable” answers. Evidence from the authors' experiments suggests that the theory is untenable as a description of the structure of job attitudes and the determinants of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The authors acknowledge that a policy of job enrichment derived from the application of the theory would be likely to promote satisfaction and allay dissatisfaction. A concise summary of their analysis and conclusions is given at the end of the article.