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Article
Publication date: 16 November 2010

Thomas Chi Keung Chan, Keith Yong Ngee Ng and Gian Casimir

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the relationship between psychological empowerment and performance on service quality is moderated by the need for achievement.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the relationship between psychological empowerment and performance on service quality is moderated by the need for achievement.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 94 full‐time property managers in Hong Kong using a self‐administered survey.

Findings

The findings indicate that both empowerment and need for achievement are correlated positively to service quality and that the relationship between empowerment and service quality is moderated by need for achievement such that the strength of the positive relationship between empowerment and service quality decreases as need for achievement increases.

Research limitations/implications

All of the data are self‐reported, from a single source, and obtained from the same method (i.e. a five‐point Likert scale), thereby bringing into question the effect of common method bias. However, a single‐component test shows that the majority of the covariance between the constructs is not due to common method variance.

Practical implications

Organizations engaged in the provision of services need to emphasize not only empowering employees but also need to recruit employees who are high in need for achievement. The findings indicate that property managers with higher levels of need for achievement require less empowerment from management to provide quality service possibly because they are self‐empowered to strive for excellence when performing their duties.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature by being the first not only to examine whether the need for achievement moderates the relationship between empowerment and service quality but also the first to examine service quality in the context of the property management industry in Hong Kong.

Details

Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, vol. 20 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-4529

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 January 2008

Mark Loon and Gian Casimir

The purpose of the research is to examine whether need for achievement moderates the relationship between job‐demand for learning and job‐related learning.

3657

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the research is to examine whether need for achievement moderates the relationship between job‐demand for learning and job‐related learning.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained from 153 participants full‐time. The scales for job‐demand for learning and job‐related learning were developed for this research, whilst the scale for need for achievement was obtained from an external source. Hierarchical regression analysis was used in testing the hypothesized moderating effects.

Findings

It was found that need for achievement moderates the relationship between job‐demand for learning and job‐related learning. Specifically, although job‐demand for learning is correlated positively to job‐related learning for both the high and the low need for achievement groups, this correlation is stronger amongst the high group.

Research limitations/implications

The use of a cross‐sectional design in this study prohibits inferences being drawn regarding the causal relationships between job‐demand for learning, need for achievement and job‐related learning.

Practical implications

Job‐related learning can be facilitated through increasing the need for achievement by allowing employees to establish their own learning and performance goals rather than by imposing such goals on them. The redesign of jobs to create challenges for employees is an equally important practical consideration.

Originality/value

This research provides a succinct view of the relationship between an external factor, job‐demand for learning, and an internal motivator, need for achievement. It emphasizes the degree to which organizations can facilitate learning through design of challenging jobs, to the extent of the individuals' motivation.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 September 2010

Shawn M. Carraher, Jason K. Buchanan and George Puia

The decision one makes to engage in entrepreneurial activity is affected by many different motivators. The paper aims to focus on one specific motivator for entrepreneurial…

4055

Abstract

Purpose

The decision one makes to engage in entrepreneurial activity is affected by many different motivators. The paper aims to focus on one specific motivator for entrepreneurial activity which is the Need for Achievement. The prevailing methods of studying achievement motivation will also be discussed as shall constructs related to Need for Achievement. The paper also examines the dynamics of achievement motivation. The dynamic ability of individual traits is important, if it were not one's traits would be constant and not capable of being changed or developed. Some of the main factors that can influence achievement motivation are also examined in the paper.

Design/methodology/approach

Specifically, data from 249 entrepreneurs from the USA, 220 from China, and 173 from Latvia were used in order to examine the relationships between variables related to Need for Achievement.

Findings

Goal orientation, conscientiousness, cognitive complexity, age, and gender were found to be able to account for 29.4 percent of the variance in Need for Achievement among American entrepreneurs, 45.3 percent among Chinese entrepreneurs, and 33.5 percent among Latvian entrepreneurs. Differences are found between the countries with cognitive complexity being statistically significant in the USA and China, but not in Latvia. Gender was significant in the USA and China but not in Latvia. Age was not significantly related to Need for Achievement in any of the three countries, while goal orientation and conscientiousness were significantly related to Need for Achievement in all three countries. Finally, the implications of this research as well as areas that need to be considered for future research are discussed.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is limited to entrepreneurs of small to medium‐sized enterprises in North America, Asia, and the Baltics. The implications of the research include that Need for Achievement is important for entrepreneurs across these three very diverse cultures and that variables related to Need for Achievement vary between the countries. As Need for Achievement is related to economic development, it is important to understand the factors which might be able to influence the Need for Achievement of entrepreneurs from around the world.

Originality/value

The development of entrepreneurs is important if economies desire to have sustainable growth. Little empirical research has examined these issues with data‐sets from three continents. Even less research has examined these issues among entrepreneurs. The paper addresses these areas.

Details

Baltic Journal of Management, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5265

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 21 November 2018

Vincent K. Chong and Nurul Farhana Khudzir

This chapter examines the effect of mutual monitoring and the personality trait of need for achievement on subordinates’ budgetary-slack creation in a team-based environment…

Abstract

This chapter examines the effect of mutual monitoring and the personality trait of need for achievement on subordinates’ budgetary-slack creation in a team-based environment. Experimental results show that the creation of budgetary slack is lower when mutual monitoring is present than when it is absent. The results also show that a two-way interaction between mutual monitoring and the personality trait of need for achievement affects subordinates’ budgetary-slack creation.

Details

Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-543-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 May 2007

Desmond Yuen

This study aims to investigate two antecedents to participation in budgetary activities – a need for a sense of achievement and a positive work attitude – and then to assess the…

4437

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate two antecedents to participation in budgetary activities – a need for a sense of achievement and a positive work attitude – and then to assess the impact of these two variables on job performance in the context of public‐sector organizations in Macau.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for the study were collected by a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of 216 managers in three departments of the Macau public service.

Findings

This paper demonstrates that the two antecedent factors – a positive work attitude and a need for achievement – have a significant positive relationship with budgetary participation. It is concluded that indirect relationships exist between the two antecedent variables (work attitude and a need for achievement) and the dependent variable (job performance), with participation in budgeting as an intervening variable.

Research limitations/implications

The results should be interpreted within the usual limitations of survey research. The participants volunteered to participate in the present study, and the sample was thus not strictly random. Because, less than 100 per cent of the questionnaires were returned, non‐response bias might exist.

Practical implications

The results of the study have implications for the design of effective budgeting planning control process in public‐sector organizations in Macau. In providing a formal conceptual framework, the paper argues that the interactive process of budgeting systems means that individual‐level factors are crucial to the achievement of budget plans.

Originality/value

The results provide an improved understanding of the effect of individual‐level behaviour on job performance in a budgetary context on the basis of the current study's findings.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 22 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 May 2020

Radityo Putro Handrito, Hendrik Slabbinck and Johanna Vanderstraeten

This study aims to explore how an entrepreneur's implicit need for achievement and risk reception contribute to internationalization performance.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore how an entrepreneur's implicit need for achievement and risk reception contribute to internationalization performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study involves 176 Indonesian entrepreneurs. The authors use the Operant Motive Test to assess the entrepreneur's implicit needs and apply hierarchical Tobit regression to assess the interplay between implicit need for achievement, risk perception and internationalization.

Findings

The authors show that an entrepreneur's basic needs and risk perception play an essential role in SME internationalization. More specifically, the authors reveal a positive association between the entrepreneur's need for achievement and small and medium enterprises (SME) internationalization. They also show a U-shaped relationship for the moderation effect of risk perception on this relationship. That is, for a high need for achievement-motivated entrepreneur, the level of internationalization is at the highest when risk perception is either very low or very high.

Originality/value

In this study, the authors argue that analyses at the entrepreneur's individual level are indispensable to better understand firm internationalization. The authors argue that the role of psycho-cognitive characteristics of individuals (such as motivational dispositions) received too little attention, compared to factors at the firm or environmental level. This study examines such personality aspects and finds that implicit need for achievement and risk perception impact SME internationalization.

Details

Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5794

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 4 December 2009

Xuan Van Tran and Arch G. Woodside

People have unconscious motives which affects their decision-making and associated behavior. The paper describes a study using thematic apperception test (TAT) to measure how…

Abstract

People have unconscious motives which affects their decision-making and associated behavior. The paper describes a study using thematic apperception test (TAT) to measure how unconscious motives influence travelers' interpretations and preferences toward alternative tours and hotels. Using the TAT, the present study explores the relationships between three unconscious needs: (1) achievement, (2) affiliation, and (3) power and preferences for four package tours (adventure, culture, business, and escape tours) and for seven hotel identities (quality, familiarity, location, price, friendliness, food and beverage, and cleanliness and aesthetics). The present study conducts canonical correlation analyses to examine the relationships between unconscious needs and preferences for package tours and hotel identities using data from 467 university students. The study scores 2,438 stories according to the TAT manual to identify unconscious needs. The findings indicate that (1) people with a high need for affiliation prefer an experience based on cultural values and hotels that are conveniently located, (2) individuals with a high need for power indicate a preference for high prices and good value for their money, and (3) people with a high need for achievement prefer a travel experience with adventure as a motivation. The study findings are consistent with previous research of McClelland (1990), Wilson (2002), and Woodside et al. (2008) in exploring impacts of the unconscious levels of human need.

Details

Perspectives on Cross-Cultural, Ethnographic, Brand Image, Storytelling, Unconscious Needs, and Hospitality Guest Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-604-5

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2007

Sibin Wu, Matthews and Grace K. Dagher

The purpose of the study is to employ the need theory to investigate whether a need for achievement has an effect on persistence behavior among entrepreneurs, and whether a need

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to employ the need theory to investigate whether a need for achievement has an effect on persistence behavior among entrepreneurs, and whether a need for achievement and business goals interact to influence such persistence.

Design/methodology/approach

A longitudinal study of nascent entrepreneurs was conducted by a field survey in a metropolitan area of a mid‐western state in the USA. Logistic regression was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Need for achievement is found to be positively related to entrepreneurial persistence. Business goals are found to moderate the relationship between need for achievement and persistence.

Research limitations/implications

The time span between the two waves of data collection in the longitudinal study might have been too short.

Practical implications

This study highlights the importance of matching need for achievement and business goals. For complex tasks, a strong need for achievement should be accompanied with moderate business goals if persistence is to occur. Venture capitalists and government agencies can improve entrepreneurial success by keeping a close eye on the match.

Originality/value

Few studies have explored the issue of entrepreneurial persistence. The present study contributes to a better understanding of motivation and other variables that influence entrepreneurial persistence.

Details

Management Research News, vol. 30 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0140-9174

Keywords

Abstract

Details

The Emerald Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-786-9

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2000

Ove C. Hansemark

Self‐reporting questionnaires as well as projective tests are frequently used in entrepreneurship and management research that is concerned with the need for achievement. The…

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Abstract

Self‐reporting questionnaires as well as projective tests are frequently used in entrepreneurship and management research that is concerned with the need for achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine whether an objective test such as the Cesarec‐Markes Personal Scheme (CMPS) and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) have any predictive validity on the entrepreneurial activity of starting a new business. The study had a longitudinal design. Psychological measurement of need for achievement was conducted before the entrepreneurial decision was made. The period between the psychological measurement and the collection of the data for the longitudinal study was 11 years. In summary, the result of the study does not support the hypothesis that the TAT has any predictive validity. On the other hand, the result of the study does support the hypothesis that the objective test CMPS has predictive validity.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 15 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

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