Does autonomy support matter for intern well-being in Malaysia? A self-determination theory approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manli Gu ◽  
Li Liu ◽  
Ester Ellen Trees Bolt

PurposeResearch has shown that autonomy support is a powerful predictor of employee well-being in the West. Despite this importance in the West, the role of autonomy in relation to employee well-being remains relatively understudied in other contexts, such as Malaysia. This is presumably so due to the assumption that employees in a country of excessive hierarchy, like Malaysia, do not value autonomy. Drawing on self-determination theory (SDT), this paper aims to investigate the relationship between employee perceived autonomy support and well-being in the context of Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThe authors propose that employee-perceived autonomy support is positively related to employee well-being (measured as work engagement and emotional exhaustion) mediated by basic psychological need satisfaction. The authors also hypothesize that the positive relationship is even stronger when employees are less autonomy-oriented. The authors tested this moderated mediation model using a survey of 125 interns in Malaysia.FindingsThe results provide strong evidence for the mediating role of need satisfaction when intern well-being is measured as work engagement, while the evidence is less conclusive when employee well-being is measured as emotional exhaustion. Moreover, the moderating effect of autonomy orientation is insignificant.Originality/valueThis paper enhances understanding of the cross-culture applicability of SDT and thereby provided a nuanced understanding of the boundary conditions of autonomy support.

Author(s):  
Noud Frielink ◽  
Carlo Schuengel ◽  
Petri J. C. M. Embregts

Abstract The tenets of self-determination theory as applied to support were tested with structural equation modelling for 186 people with ID with a mild to borderline level of functioning. The results showed that (a) perceived autonomy support was positively associated with autonomous motivation and with satisfaction of need for autonomy, relatedness, and competence; (b) autonomous motivation and need satisfaction were associated with higher psychological well-being; (c) autonomous motivation and need satisfaction statistically mediated the association between autonomy support and well-being; and (d) satisfaction of need for autonomy and relatedness was negatively associated with controlled motivation, whereas satisfaction of need for relatedness was positively associated with autonomous motivation. The self-determination theory provides insights relevant for improving support for people with intellectual disability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 27-30

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This article investigates internships within organizations and how to increase their effectiveness. The motivational process is investigated, using pairs of interns and their supervisors. The relationship between job resources, basic need satisfaction, work engagement and outcomes/performance are investigated. The results from the study also confirm that job demands-resources theory can work in combination with self-determination theory. For successful internships, managers need to ensure the needs of the individual intern are met. Originality The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 397-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shikha Sharma ◽  
Jodie Conduit ◽  
Sally Rao Hill

Purpose This study aims to provide an understanding of how the participation of vulnerable customers in the co-creation of health-care provision influences their individual well-being outcomes. Using self-determination theory, it demonstrates that co-creation at the point of care and at an organisational or system level impacts individual hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach is adopted to identify the various customer well-being outcomes. Two case studies of health-care organisations, comprising ten in-depth interviews and eight focus groups, as well as documents and noted observations are used for thematic analysis. Findings The study demonstrates ways in which vulnerable customers integrate resources to co-create value outcomes. It shows how differing co-creative role of customers with mental illness lead to different customer well-being outcomes. These roles manifest not only the hedonic well-being characteristics of pleasure and happiness but also eudaimonic well-being, which provides a sense of achievement and purpose to customers. The study used self-determination theory to identify different forms of eudaimonic well-being derived from the co-creation roles of co-producer, strategic partner and community citizen. Originality/value The co-creation and transformative service literature is extended by demonstrating that a feeling of self-efficacy and self-determination because of value co-creation foster customer well-being. This study demonstrates that co-creation at the point of care and at an organisational or system level impacts individual hedonic and eudaimonic well-being.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Dias ◽  
Sílvia Lopes ◽  
Ricardo Peixoto

Purpose This study aims to examine the associations among mastering new technologies, teleworkers’ voluntariness and involuntariness and employee well-being (i.e. work engagement and exhaustion). To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no studies have explored the relationships among these constructs in the same conceptual model. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from a sample of 451 individuals performing telework in Portugal. AMOS was used to test all hypotheses of the study. Findings The findings showed a positive relationship between mastering new technologies and teleworkers’ voluntariness and a negative relationship between mastering new technologies and teleworkers’ involuntariness. However, contrary to expectations, voluntariness in teleworking was not significantly related to either work engagement or exhaustion. However, consistent with the theoretical background of self-determination theory, involuntariness in teleworking was negatively related to work engagement and positively related to exhaustion. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by addressing the analysis of telework-related variables that may impact workers’ well-being. Implications for human resource management policies and knowledge management are discussed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon L. Albrecht

The job demands-resources (JD-R) model provides a well-validated account of how job resources and job demands influence work engagement, burnout, and their constituent dimensions. The present study aimed to extend previous research by including challenge demands not widely examined in the context of the JD-R. Furthermore, and extending self-determination theory, the research also aimed to investigate the potential mediating effects that employees’ need satisfaction as regards their need for autonomy, need for belongingness, need for competence, and need for achievement, as components of a higher order needs construct, may have on the relationships between job demands and engagement. Structural equations modeling across two independent samples generally supported the proposed relationships. Further research opportunities, practical implications, and study limitations are discussed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 511-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Engström ◽  
Mattias Elg

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore what motivates patients to participate in service development and how participation may influence their well-being. Health-care providers are increasingly adopting practices of customer participation in such activities to improve their services. Design/methodology/approach – This paper builds on an analysis of data from a service development project in which lung cancer patients contributed by sharing their ideas and experiences through diaries. Out of the 86 lung cancer patients who were invited to participate, 20 agreed to participate and 14 fully completed the task. The study builds on participants’ contributions, in-depth interviews with six participants and the reasons patients gave for not participating. Findings – This paper identifies a number of motives: non-interest in participating, restitution after poor treatment, desire for contact with others, volunteerism, desire to make a contribution and the enjoyment of having a task to complete. A self-determination theory perspective was adopted to show how the need to satisfy basic human needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness determines if and how patients participate. Participation may have important benefits for patients, especially an improved sense of relatedness. Practical implications – Service providers must be prepared to meet different patient needs in service development, ranging from the need to express strong distress to expressing creativity. By understanding the dynamics of motivation and well-being, organizers may achieve better results in terms of improved services and in patient well-being. Originality/value – This study makes a significant contribution to the study of customer participation in service development, especially in relation to health care, by offering a self-determination-based typology for describing different styles of patient participation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 542-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Henry ◽  
Donatienne Desmette

Purpose In the context of workforce aging, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role of occupational future time perspective (OFTP) in the relationship between work–family enrichment (WF-E) and two well-being outcomes (i.e. work engagement and emotional exhaustion). In addition, the moderating role of age on the relationship between WF-E and OFTP, and consequently, on the indirect effects of WF-E on work engagement and emotional exhaustion through OFTP, will be examined. Design/methodology/approach Cross-sectional survey research (n=263) was conducted in a public sector company in Belgium. Structural equation modeling and bootstrap analyses were performed to investigate the hypothesized relationships. Findings The dimension “remaining opportunities” of OFTP mediated the positive relationship between WFE and work engagement, and the negative relationship between WFE and emotional exhaustion. Chronological age moderated the positive relationship between WFE and the dimension “remaining time” of OFTP, with stronger effects among older workers. Research limitations/implications This research has confirmed that OFTP is influenced by WFE and that WFE matters, especially for older workers. Future research should continue to study the effects of the work–family interface on older workers. Practical implications Age management practices should take WFE into consideration when managing an aging workforce. In particular, older workers may benefit from WFE to increase their perception of remaining opportunities at work, which, in turn, increase well-being. Originality/value This study contributes evidence for the role of personal resources (i.e. remaining opportunities) in the relationship between WF-E and well-being at work.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 1295-1322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Roberto Beraldin ◽  
Pamela Danese ◽  
Pietro Romano

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how just-in-time (JIT)-related job demands, problem-solving job demands and soft lean practices (SLPs) jointly influence employee well-being in terms of work engagement and exhaustion. Design/methodology/approach Based on the job demands-resources model, lean-related job characteristics were classified as resources or demands, and a set of hypotheses was developed to test their effect on work engagement and exhaustion, including the potential interaction between job resources and demands. The hypotheses were tested using moderated hierarchical regression and structural equation modelling, based on data from 138 workers. Findings SLPs act as job resources in a lean company, increasing work engagement and reducing exhaustion. Conversely, JIT-related job demands act as a hindrance, reducing work engagement and increasing exhaustion. However, SLPs can reduce the effect of JIT-related job demands on exhaustion, and JIT-related job demands may enhance the positive effects of SLPs on work engagement. Research limitations/implications The study provides no conclusive evidence on the hypothesized role of problem-solving as a challenge job demand. Practical implications The results can guide practitioners’ understanding of how to implement lean without harm to employee well-being. Originality/value By employing a well-grounded psychological model to test the link between lean and well-being, the study finds quantitative support for: the buffering effect of SLPs on exhaustion caused by JIT-related job demands, and for the role of JIT as a hindrance. These novel findings have no precedent in previous survey-based research. In addition, it reveals the importance of studying SLPs at an individual level, as what matters is the extent to which workers perceive SLPs as useful and supportive.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-111
Author(s):  
Lenna V. Shulga ◽  
James A. Busser

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to deepen the understanding of consumers value collaboration with a service provider, specifically, how consumer self-determination affects value co-creation outcomes.Design/methodology/approachSelf-determination theory (SDT) need-based motivational factors were operationalized in co-creation as commitment to resources (autonomy), feedback (competence) and collectives (relatedness). A between–within factorial experimental design (3 × 2 × 4) was conducted using online scenarios depicting value co-creation in a destination resort setting. Respondents were randomly and equally assigned to strong and weak SDT factor conditions. Next, they were exposed to scenarios depicting four types of value co-creation: co-innovation, co-creation of marketing, co-creation of experience and co-recovery, followed by an assessment of their co-created value (CCV), well-being, satisfaction and service advantage perceptions.FindingsResults revealed that overall strong SDT conditions produce better outcomes. Consumers’ relatedness showed the strongest difference between strong and weak SDT conditions on the CCV dimensions. Further analysis revealed that autonomy and relatedness are crucial for collaboration. CCV meaningfulness is central for customers to improve their well-being, satisfaction and competitive advantage perceptions through co-creation.Originality/valueThe study contributes to a line of research on successful voluntary value co-creation processes between consumers and a company. The integration of service-dominant logic (SDL), axiology of value (AOV) and SDT, uniquely operationalized as commitment to resources as autonomy, feedback as competence and co-creation collective as relatedness offers a better understanding of how customers appraise the dimensions of CCV and outcomes of well-being, satisfaction and competitive advantage.


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