An evaluation study of the deficiencies of the Vroom's Expectancy Model to improve the predictability of the model on job motivation

Professional Doctorate - Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)The Expectancy theory, first introduced by Vroom (1964), has always been one of the most widely used theories in the study of job effort, job satisfaction and occupational preference. However, despite the popularity of the theory, the results of using Expectancy theory in the context of organization studies have been questionable. As illustrated by various past researches, the explanatory power of using Expectancy theory in the study of employees’ performance has shown to account for only 10 to 15 percents of the variances. These results have led to question as to whether Expectancy theory remains valid and practical in organization studies especially in the new era of business world. Various studies on Expectancy theory have shown that the reason for the low predictability of the theory lies with the existence of various deficiencies in the theory. These deficiencies are categorized into theoretical and methodological deficiencies. In theoretical deficiencies, it is pointed out that various important determinants of human behaviors which have direct influence to employees’ decision have been excluded in the Expectancy theory. These determinants are categorized as intrinsic and negative outcomes. In addition, the influence of job category has also found to be absence in the study of Expectancy theory as well. In methodological deficiencies, various factors, including the use of within-person approach, the measurement and scaling issues in Expectancy theory are identified. It is the objective of this paper to study these various deficiencies and find an answer to improve the predictability of the Expectancy theory in the study of employees’ behavior. The research findings in this paper have led to a few important implications for the improvement of the Expectancy theory. The inclusion of the intrinsic outcomes has shown to improve the predictability of Expectancy theory while further studies are needed to validate the inclusion of negative outcomes. Most importantly, the influence of job category is found to be significant and future studies on Expectancy theory should not ignore this important factor