AN APPLICATION OF TWO-FACTOR THEORY TO IT KNOWLEDGE WORKERS IN SRI LANKA

This paper investigates the factors that motivate IT knowledge workers when Herzberg’s two factor theory is applied. In the study, a survey questionnaire was used and 159 randomly selected IT knowledge workers (all graduates) working in software development companies responded. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The findings gave an insight into the factors that motivate IT knowledge workers in Sri Lanka. Further analysis revealed that the motivational factors do not vary by age, gender, civil status, the number of years of service in the current company, and the number of employees in a company. The findings revealed that the order of motivational factors in the Sri Lankan context was not similar to that of the order of findings of the Herzberg’s study. The findings implied that IT organizations need to pay special attention to motivational factors of IT knowledge workers in designing jobs and in motivating them. Keywords: IT Industry, Knowledge Workers, Motivation, Two-Factor Theory For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.l