Abstract:
Purpose – Extensive prior research has highlighted the correlates of basic need satisfaction and autonomous motivation in the workplace, where the satisfaction of such needs positively impacts a variety of work outcomes, including performance. In entrepreneurial work roles, however, where pay is largely or wholly contingent upon performance (pay for performance, or PFP), the question remains whether these same relationships are evident. The purpose of this paper is to examine these relationships in entrepreneurial work roles, where PFP is a critical extrinsic motivating factor.
Design/methodology/approach – Using a quantitative research design, data were collected from real estate agents across all provinces of South Africa. The data consists of responses from 255 participants.
Findings – The findings showed an association between the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs and integrated regulation. All other hypothesised associations between the needs, motivation, and performance were not supported. The study raises the question as to whether contingency pay negates or facilitates autonomous motivation and performance, and opens the door for further research in this field.
Research limitations/implications – The study focuses on one type of PFP and entrepreneurial work role, and further studies will be required to generalise the findings to other contexts.
Originality/value – The application of self-determination theory to entrepreneurial work roles is a nascent field and is characterised differently to traditional work contexts, most specifically insofar as pay structures go, which offers a different perspective from an extrinsic motivation perspective.
