Shedding new light on intrinsic motivation to work: evidence from a discrete choice experiment

Abstract

In this paper, we evaluated the determinants of the decision utility of workers from the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. In our setting, decision utility is the weight assigned by workers to the expected benefits of different job offers. We used a conjoint analysis method based on experimental data on workers' stated preferences towards hypothetical job offers that were characterised by ten attributes. The intrinsic motivation of nonprofit workers was investigated by specifically analysing the influence of three of these attributes, specifically wages, working time, and loyalty of the employer, on decision utility. The results showed evidence of motivational differences between the for-profit and nonprofit groups. First, nonprofit workers attained their maximum decision utility after a longer working time, showing superior intrinsic motivation for work. Furthermore, they were ready to give up a higher percentage of their wages in order to work for another extra hour than were for-profit workers, as long as the working week was less than 33 hours. Finally, our findings show that for-profit workers placed more value on job offers with a labour contract including an explicit clause stating that higher effort will be exchanged for the employer's loyalty. In contrast, nonprofit workers did not obtain higher utility from such a deal. We interpret this result as evidence for the intrinsic motivation of people employed in the nonprofit sector. As the nature of the implicit goals pursued in the nonprofit sector provides employees with high work morale, nonprofit workers do not obtain any gain in utility from an explicit clause regarding the employer's loyalty. Copyright � 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The supply and demand of motivated labor: When should we expect to see nonprofit wage gaps?

“…Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, Benz (2005) documents higher levels of job satisfaction amongst nonprofit employees. Lanfranchi et al (2010) find that nonprofit workers' "ideal number of hours worked" is higher than that of for-profit workers and that they are willing to receive less compensation for additional hours worked. Gregg et al (2011) show that workers who are more willing to "donate labor" (as measured by their willingness to engage in unpaid overtime work) are indeed more likely to sort into the nonprofit sector.…”

Money Talks or Millennials Walk

“…For example, Borzaga and Tortia (2006) found that pay does not have a statistically significant relationship with job satisfaction for nonprofit workers. Furthermore, a number of studies also reported that when nonprofit organizations offer employees extrinsic rewards, it crowds out the intrinsic motivations of employees and volunteers (Chen, 2013;Lanfranchi & Narcy, 2006;Lanfranchi, Narcy, & Larguem, 2010;Lee & Whitford, 2008). Mirvis and Hackett's (1983) research also supports this finding as nonprofit workers "feel a sense of accomplishment and to feel better about themselves when they do their jobs well" (p. 9).…”

Managerial Objectives and the Governance of Public and Non-Profit Organizations

“…By investigating managerial objectives and testing the simultaneous need for control and collaboration in public and non-profit governance, we provide more insights into whether and how these contrasting approaches can be integrated into a more general internal governance framework. Second, a number of authors have used a DCE to explore agent behaviour in non-profit organizations (Du Lanfranchi, Narcy, and Larguem 2010;Van Puyvelde et al 2013). We extend this literature by also using a DCE to investigate managerial objectives and managers' alignment with organizational goals in public organizations.…”

“…A number of authors have used a DCE to explore agent behaviour in non-profit organizations (Du Lanfranchi, Narcy, and Larguem 2010;Van Puyvelde et al 2013). We add to this literature by also investigating managerial objectives and managers' alignment with organizational goals in public organizations.…”