Modelling research productivity of university researchers using research incentives to crowd-in motivation

PurposeThe overall aim of this research is to propose a research incentive framework for academic staff members at the South African universities of technology (UoTs).Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory case study methodology was applied, while a questionnaire was used to (1) identify the factors that stimulated staff members' research activities; (2) assess what was considered an appropriate way of measuring research productivity and (3) identify appropriate research awards, recognition and rewards. Working from the self-determination theory (SDT), the results of the data analysis were used to develop a framework for ensuring crowding-in of research incentives into intrinsic motivation. This framework is anchored on the three main components (competence, autonomy and social relatedness) of the cognitive evaluation theory (CET) that provides guidelines for the design of a research incentive system.FindingsIntrinsically motivated researchers tend to conduct research for their inherent satisfaction because it meets their basic individual psychological need for competence. Existing research incentives and productivity systems fail to provide intrinsic motivation for researchers. Recommendation for a framework for designing research incentive systems is centred on the researchers themselves. This approach contributes to a research environment that provides space for autonomy, creativity, flexibility and innovation and consequently a successful research output that is hinged on the ability to keep researchers intrinsically motivated.Originality/valueA conceptual framework is proposed specifically for technically focused UoT suggesting that crowding-in the motivation of researcher incentives results in improved intrinsic-based motivation. The autonomy of researchers in particular is regarded as the most important driver of such motivation, with the availability of resources, collegiality and research skills and development ranking as the most important aspects specifically driving intrinsic motivation. The framework not only provides a tool for institutions of higher education focused on developing the technical skills, but also offers management at any type of university challenged with low research outputs and a poor research ethos with an alternative method to improve both the quantity and quality of research outputs.

The mechanism underlying the relationship between empowering leadership and work passion

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of empowering leadership (EL) on work passion by developing a moderated mediation model. The model focuses on the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation (IM) in the relationship between EL and work passion, as well as the moderating effect of role clarity (RC) in influencing the mediation. METHODS: Data were obtained from a sample of 515 workers, who work in 17 five-star hotels in Sharm El-Sheikh. RESULTS: Findings reveal that IM fully mediates the positive relationship between EL and work passion. It also concluded that RC moderated the mediated relationship between EL and work passion via IM, with individuals with higher RC benefiting more from the mediation. CONCLUSION: The findings have far-reaching implications for both employees and leaders. Furthermore, they add to our understanding of self-determination theory and cognitive evaluation theory in terms of consolidating employees’ work passion.

Tourists’ perceptions of climate: Application of machine learning to climate and weather data from Chinese social media

Understanding tourists’ perceptions of climate is essential to improving tourist satisfaction and destination marketing. This paper constructs a sentiment analysis framework for tourists’ perceptions of climate using not only continuous climate data but also short-term weather data. Based on Sina Weibo, we found that Chinese tourists’ perceptions of climate change were at an initial stage of development. The accuracies of word segmentation between sentiment and nonsentiment words using ROST CM, BosonNLP, and GooSeeker were all high, and the three gradually decreased. The positively expressed sentences accounted for 79.80% of the entire text using ROST EA, and the sentiment score was 0.784 at the intermediate level using artificial neural networks. The results indicate that the perceived emotional map is generally consistent with the actual climate and that cognitive evaluation theory is suitable to study text on climate perception.

Travelers’ motivations to adopt augmented reality (AR) applications in a tourism destination

Purpose This study aims to identify travelers’ motivational factors to adopt augmented reality (AR) applications at tourism destinations. Furthermore, this study seeks to investigate the role of personal innovativeness as a moderator in the relationships between motivations and travelers’ behavioral outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Building upon two theories, cognitive evaluation theory and self-presentation theory, this study developed a conceptual framework to identify travelers’ inclination to use AR applications at tourism destinations. A sample size of 473 was collected through an online self-administered survey. Using partial least square (PLS) analysis, the proposed model was examined. To examine the moderating effect of personal innovativeness, a multi-group analysis was conducted with two groups: high-innovative and low-innovative. PLS method is used to test the study’s theoretical model. Findings Findings of this study indicate that both hedonic and utilitarian motivations significantly influenced travelers’ attitudes toward AR applications at tourism destinations. Self-presentation motivation appears to have a significantly positive impact on travelers’ attitudes toward AR applications only for the highly innovative group. Originality/value This study helps a better understanding of what motivates travelers to adopt AR applications at tourism destinations by integrating preeminent theories and applying them to the tourism context.

Understanding the Theories and Interventions of Motivation in Organization Development

This article reviews theories of motivation in the workplace, what these theories look like in the modern workplace, and interventions designed to increase individual and system-wide organizational motivation. We explored a wide range of theories, including the expectancy theory, Maslow’s hierarchy, the motivation-hygiene theory, the equity theory, reward structures, cognitive evaluation theory, and feedback, to formulate conclusions about common organization development (OD) interventions that are meant to address the theories. Reviewed interventions include; organization structure design, achievement orientation, goal setting, job design, quality feedback, and empowerment programs. We followed a multidisciplinary integrated literature review approach to move beyond merely summarizing the literature but substantially contributing new and valuable knowledge to the fields of leadership and organization development. The research cements the need for understanding individuals’ needs and goals, the value of quality feedback, rewarding positive behavior, leading with fairness, and allowing space for autonomy.

Understanding the Theories and Interventions of Motivation in Organization Development

This article reviews theories of motivation in the workplace, what these theories look like in the modern workplace, and interventions designed to increase individual and system-wide organizational motivation. We explored a wide range of theories, including the expectancy theory, Maslow’s hierarchy, the motivation-hygiene theory, the equity theory, reward structures, cognitive evaluation theory, and feedback, to formulate conclusions about common organization development (OD) interventions that are meant to address the theories. Reviewed interventions include; organization structure design, achievement orientation, goal setting, job design, quality feedback, and empowerment programs. We followed a multidisciplinary integrated literature review approach to move beyond merely summarizing the literature but substantially contributing new and valuable knowledge to the fields of leadership and organization development. The research cements the need for understanding individuals’ needs and goals, the value of quality feedback, rewarding positive behavior, leading with fairness, and allowing space for autonomy.

Enhancing Consumer Online Purchase Intention Through Gamification in China: Perspective of Cognitive Evaluation Theory

The application of game elements of gamification in online shopping is attracting interest from researchers and practitioners. However, it remains unclear how gamification affects and improves consumer purchase intention on online shopping platforms, which still leaves a gap in our knowledge. To narrow this theoretical gap, a theoretical model has been built in this study. This model adopts cognitive evaluation theory to explain the impact of gamification elements on consumer purchase intention. Data was collected from 322 online shopping consumers who used a flash game to test their purchase intention after playing games. The results show that game rewards, absorption and autonomy of gamification positively enhance sense of enjoyment, and that it helps people meet their psychological needs, which ultimately affects the online purchase intention of consumers. This study is helpful in analyzing the factors involved in the successful introduction of gamification on online shopping platforms in more detail.

Influence of intrinsic motivations on the continuity of scientific knowledge contribution to online knowledge-sharing platforms

Scientific knowledge contribution to online knowledge-sharing platforms has long been regarded as instrumental behavior based on utilitarian considerations. Employing cognitive evaluation theory, this study examines scientific expert users’ behavioral metrics to understand the factors responsible for users continuing to contribute their scientific knowledge for an extended period or a very short span. We found that expert users’ intrinsic motivations, which has received little attention in recent studies, constitute an important indicator of sustained online scientific knowledge contribution. Furthermore, although social rewards fail to predict the continuity of scientific knowledge contribution, they prolong the duration of knowledge contribution by enhancing the intrinsic motivations of expert users. In conclusion, a self-reinforcement mechanism underlies the relationship of intrinsic motivation with social rewards, which governs continuous online scientific knowledge contribution behavior.

Learning Marketing Online: The Role of Social Interactions and Gamification Rewards

Online learning is a powerful option for professional development in various careers, including marketing. However, massive open online courses (MOOCs) tend to face an issue of course dropouts, and this cannot only be attributed to factors like course content or value. Social interactions among students and interest-generating elements of MOOCs are equally important elements of online learning ecosystems. Therefore, this study approaches the problem from the perspective of the social exchange theory with insights into the cognitive evaluation theory to predict the effects of social interactions and gamification rewards on the process of studies. The data from an experiment and a subsequent survey of marketing course participants were used to analyze student satisfaction and dropouts through the lens of the social exchange theory and to see the effects of expected and unexpected gamification rewards. This contributes to the knowledge about factors that influence online course discontinuation, provides managerial and educational insights on dropout reduction, and specifies directions for further studies on the use of gamification elements in MOOCs.