Keep the fire burning: Reciprocal gains of basic need satisfaction, intrinsic motivation and innovative work behaviour

Abstract

Drawing on insights from self-determination theory, we explored the dynamic relationship between intrinsic motivation and innovative work behaviour (IWB) over time. Specifically, we investigated how basic need satisfaction influences IWB through its effect on intrinsic motivation and how IWB in turn affects basic need satisfaction as measured the next day (i.e., a reciprocal relationship). The current study used a longitudinal design comprising a 6-day period and relied on multi-source data from 76 students in industrial product design and electronic engineering who participated in an innovation boot camp. In general, results provided support for the mediating role of intrinsic motivation in the relationship between basic need satisfaction and IWB, as well as the reciprocal relationship between basic need satisfaction and IWB.

Keywords:

• Basic need satisfaction
• Intrinsic motivation
• Innovative work behaviour
• Reciprocal relationship

We would like to thank Filip Lievens (Ghent University) and Karoline Strauss (University of Sheffield) for their suggestions on earlier versions of this paper. The first and second author’s contribution was supported by a grant from the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen) [grant number G.0790.10N].

Notes

¹ The full correlation table, including the separate dimensions of basic need satisfaction, is available from the first author on request.

² The path analyses used in this study did not model shared variance at the group (i.e., industrial case) level in addition to variation at the individual level. However, using the new Bayesian estimator implemented in Mplus (Asparouhov & Muthén, 2010), we derived a two-level path solution attesting to the stability of our key model results (i.e., mediation and reciprocal effect; see Appendix, Table A1).

³ The same analytical multilevel procedure was followed to test the hypothesized relationships (H1 and H2) using self-rated IWB scores. Given that analyses with self-rated IWB measures provided similar results as the analyses with peer-rated IWB measures adds to our confidence about the overall robustness of our results.