Expectancy Theory

Vroom is known for developing the idea of expectancy, which refers to the likelihood that an activity or effort will bring in a result( Haque et al., 2014). Vroom provided a more detailed definition of expectancy, saying that "where an individual chooses between alternatives involving uncertain outcomes, it seems clear that his behaviour is affected not only by his preferences among these outcomes but also by the point to which he believes these outcomes to be possible( Haque et al., 2014).

Expectations can be defined according to their strength. Subjective certainty that the act will result in the desired consequence indicates maximum strength, whereas subjective certainty that the act will not result in the desired end indicates minimum strength (Vroom, 1964)-( Haque et al., 2014).

Figure 05 - Expectancy Theory

Expectancy theory is a process theory of motivation that stresses individual assessments of the environment and actions as a result of one's expectations (Fudge & Schlacter, 1999)-( Purvis et al., 2014). Motivators, such as external rewards, specifically explain why certain behaviours occur( Purvis et al., 2014).

Employee motivation has long been explained by the expectancy theory, which holds that motivation is a multiplicative function of three constructs:

• an individual's assessment of the likelihood that they will succeed if they put forth effort and develop and implement an idea( Purvis et al., 2014).

• a person's estimation of the likelihood that the development and implementation effort will produce the desired organisational performance( Purvis et al., 2014).

• the level of personal appeal of the benefits after the fulfilment of organisational goals or performance for each stakeholder( Purvis et al., 2014).

References  

 

 Haque, M.F., Haque, M.A. and Islam, M.S. (2014) Motivational Theories – A Critical Analysis [Preprint]. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306255973_Motivational_Theories_-_A_Critical_Analysis (Accessed: December 2, 2022).  

 

Purvis, R.L., Zagenczyk, T.J. and Mccray, G.E. (2014) What's in it for me? Using expectancy theory and climate to explain stakeholder participation, its direction and intensity [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2014.03.003.