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Companies are now using social network sites (SNSs) within their marketing and brand-building activities. Twitter is the preferred SNS for creating brand communities, which offer companies many advantages. The purpose of this paper is to examine how individuals manage their competing needs for being affiliated (operationalized as personal and communal-brand connections) and for being seen as distinctive (operationalized as need for uniqueness (NFU)) when they are members of brand communities on Twitter. The authors have also analysed which type of brand community is able to achieve the balance between both needs, enhancing identification with the brand community.

A total of 318 valid responses were collected from three camera brand communities on Twitter. Messages (“tweets”) which included a link to an online questionnaire were sent to community members via Twitter. The authors examine the proposed model using structural equation modelling.

The authors demonstrate that consumers can satisfy their need for affiliation in brand communities created in Twitter. However, consumers can only reach a balance between the need for affiliation and the need for distinctiveness in brand communities built around niche brands. In contrast, the two needs work in opposition to shape identification in brand communities of big brands.

Optimal distinctiveness theory is used as a theoretical background for proposing how the antecedents of identification with the brand community enhance brand loyalty, with reference to the conflict between the individual’s needs for both distinctiveness and affiliation. Consumers’ identification with the brand community is proposed as a mediator to achieve brand loyalty in brand communities. Consumers reach this balance in brand communities built around a niche brand, where individuals with high NFU feel a high identification with the brand community. For big brands, as consumers’ NFU increases, their identification with the brand community and brand loyalty decreases.

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.

The goal of this paper is to better understand affiliation motivation patterns among students interested in pursuing entrepreneurial/self‐employment careers as compared to students less interested in pursuing entrepreneurial careers.

The study sample included 424 college students enrolled in upper‐division business courses in a public institution in the Mid‐Atlantic region of the USA. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the effects of four dimensions of affiliation motivation on entrepreneurial aspirations.

Interest in entrepreneurial careers was negatively associated with the need for emotional support and positively associated with the need for positive stimulation from other persons. Therefore, persons with entrepreneurial interests enjoy interacting with other people, but they are not emotionally dependent upon them. Neither the need for social comparison nor the need for attention varied as a function of entrepreneurial aspirations.

Future research should distinguish among persons seeking different types of entrepreneurial and self‐employment opportunities, as well as compare business students both to students studying fields other than business and persons established in careers.

Knowledge of persons' affiliation motivation patterns may contribute to effective career counseling and career development.

This paper contributes to greater understanding of the distinguishing characteristics of persons aspiring to be entrepreneurs by assessing four subcategories of affiliation motivation rather than treating it as a one‐dimensional concept.

Gang affiliation in youth is associated with increased criminal recidivism and an exaggeration of various criminogenic needs; affiliation also meets a variety of youth's personal and social needs. The purpose of this paper is to describe a study of the self-reported reasons for joining and leaving gangs, as well as the difficulties faced by Singaporean youth offenders in leaving youth gangs; it also explores the relationship between gang affiliation and family connectedness, educational attainment and early exposure to gangs.

This prospective study involved structured interviews and administration of questionnaires with 168 youth offenders in Singapore. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the research questions.

Gang-affiliated youth cited a desire to establish and maintain friendships as their primary reasons for joining a gang. Youth who left their gang reported maturing beyond this need and the activities of their gang, particularly in light of the deleterious impact of their gang-related activities on familial relationships and employment and financial status. Early exposure to gangs through family and neighborhood influences, and poor educational engagement increased the likelihood that youth would join a gang.

This study highlights the need for clinicians and other service providers to better understand the universal human needs that are met through gang affiliation and the correlates of affiliation.

Few studies have directly examined the factors relating to gang affiliation in a non-western context; this study may be relevant to professionals working in the juvenile justice and offender rehabilitation arenas.

This paper aims to examine the link between the Big Five personality traits and self-efficacy for teamwork, positioning manifest needs as intervening variables. The primary purpose of the analyses is to further develop some of the key variables contributing to team performance.

Relationships were tested with conditional process analysis. The sample includes 315 students from a large university. Likert measures were used to operationalize survey items, which are based on existing scales in the literature.

Each of the Big Five dimensions are related to teamwork self-efficacy (TSE), with manifest needs having significant mediating effects. For example, conscientiousness displayed a positive relationship to TSE, with both the need for affiliation and the need for power acting as significant intervening variables. Such relationships for each personality dimension are discussed fully in the paper.

High functioning teams need members who share a level of self-efficacy for engaging in teamwork. Leaders who must form their teams may find it useful to consider TSE, and the individual attributes that contribute to this important construct. The authors’ examination of the roles of both personality and manifest needs should offer some essential tools for this objective.

This paper contributes to our understanding of the relationship between personality and TSE by investigating manifest needs as process variables.

The purpose of this study is twofold. First, we explore the relationship between organizational justice and service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (SOCB). In particular, we focus on perceived distributive and procedural justice. Second, we examine the moderating effect of the need for achievement and need for affiliation.

The paper employed an online cross-sectional survey approach and distributed questionnaires to service employees at a large service organization. Data were analyzed with a two-step structural equation modeling technique using LISREL 8.7.

Perceived procedural justice significantly predicts SOCB. Additionally, the need for affiliation positively moderates the relationship between perceived procedural justice and SOCB, whereas the need for achievement positively moderates the relationship between perceived distributive justice and SOCB.

Results confirm the importance of establishing and implementing transparent formal organizational processes and procedures for evaluating outcomes of service employees. We recommend service organizations to communicate proactively with employees about how formal organizational systems are implemented, and provide employees with examples and cases that illustrate how performance appraisals are performed. Moreover, supervisors in service organizations need to establish and maintain high quality of social exchange relationships with employees by providing personal coaching and counseling. Furthermore, service organizations need to establish a positive and friendly performance appraisal environment and offer trainings on how to satisfy unpredictable customer demand to employees.

Given the growth of commercial services in the USA and the limited existing knowledge on SOCB, this study provides scholars and practitioner with suggestions and recommendations on how SOCB can be encouraged in service settings.

This study sought to examine student motives for participating in a residential leadership learning community for incoming freshmen using McClelland’s Achievement Motivation Theory (McClelland, 1958, 1961). Eighty-nine students began the program in the Fall 2009 semester and were administered a single, researcher-developed instrument. Responses to an open-ended question that asked students what their primary motive for participating in the voluntary, residential leadership learning community were analyzed using deductive content analysis techniques (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2009; Patton, 2002) and categorized according to McClelland’s Achievement Motivation Theory as the need for Achievement, the need for Power, the need for Affiliation, or any combination thereof. Results demonstrated that while all three needs were found within the responses, the need for Achievement and the need for Affiliation were more common motives for joining the voluntary, residential leadership learning community.

The objective of this study is to examine the influence of different facets of needs (i.e. self‐achievement, power, and affiliation needs) on the relationship between individual dispositions (i.e. independence and interdependence of self) and attitudes to equity (i.e. entitled and benevolent). Data were collected from a sample of 243 Japanese university students. Structural equation analysis and simple regression analysis were performed. As a result of structural equation analysis, needs were found to mediate the relationship. The results of simple regression analysis also showed: the stronger interdependence‐oriented people have the stronger desire for affiliation needs; individual dispositions indicated no relationships with self‐achievement and power needs; those with the stronger affiliation needs exhibited both entitled and benevolent attitudes; power needs influenced entitled attitudes; and self‐achievement needs influenced both entitled and benevolent attitudes. In terms of motivation theory, the findings also suggest that people follow expectancy theory instead of equity sensitive theory.

Many scholars have primarily disregarded employee motivation in the context of Western and Islamic ideas. To better understand employee motivation, this paper aims to explore a novel approach of fusing McClelland’s needs theory (i.e. achievement, power and affiliation) with Maqasid Shariah.

This study adopts a theoretical research design. There will be a thorough literature study of McClelland’s theory, Maqasid Shariah, and employee motivation. Qualitative content analysis is used to examine and compile pertinent ideas. To give a thorough framework for comprehending employee motivation from both Western and Islamic ethical viewpoints, McClelland’s theory and Maqasid Shariah are integrated.

This paper has conceptualized the integration of Maqasid Shariah’s five requirements with McClelland’s need theory. It is suggested that Maqasid Shariah and McClelland’s need theory be combined to understand employee motivation. For employees, the integration of McClelland’s need theory and Maqasid Shariah entails developing a work environment that attends to their many needs, is consistent with Islamic principles, encourages justice and equity, supports both professional and personal development and promotes social responsibility. By combining McClelland’s need theory and Maqasid Shariah, 15 propositions are developed to explain employee motivation. The study offers a measurement index to explain employee motivation based on the two theories.

The integration of McClelland’s theory of need and Maqasid Shariah offers expected positive implications. By considering the cultural and religious context in Islamic societies, researchers can adopt a more sensitive approach to studying motivation. This blend provides a holistic understanding of motivation, incorporating individual needs and broader ethical dimensions. Studies may explore the impact on prosocial behavior, organizational values, leadership practices and employee well-being. Understanding the alignment between personal motives and ethical principles can benefit organizations in diverse workplaces, emphasizing long-term sustainability and fostering employee engagement and commitment.

The integration of McClelland’s theory and Maqasid Shariah shows the potential implications to increase employee motivation. This study contributes significantly to Maqasid Shariah theory in business research by guiding ethical decision-making aligned with Islamic values, fostering inclusive workplaces and offering strategies for boosting employee morale. It emphasizes ethical practices, legal compliance and community engagement, while also encouraging sustainable business models that consider societal well-being and the environment.

This paper provides its unique value by being among the first to integrate McClelland’s theory and Maqasid Shariah and providing an innovative approach in developing a new measurement index in the context of employee motivation.

Reports an empirical study, conducted within the context of Singapore, which examines the motives that stimulate women into becoming business owners. Aims to uncover the characteristics of a typical woman entrepreneur in Singapore; the motivational needs of women entrepreneurs; and the factors influencing the motivational needs of women entrepreneurs. Uses the Need Theory as a theoretical framework to study the motivation of women entrepreneurs. Hypothesizes that business ownership is a manifestation of four needs ‐ achievement; affiliation; autonomy; and dominance. Concludes that women entrepreneurs are motivated by a high need for achievement, a slightly high need for dominance and moderate needs for affiliation and autonomy. Finds women entrepreneurs demonstrate a higher need for achievement and dominance than women employees but significant difference in the needs for affiliation and autonomy.