Self-determination theory

Abstract

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) presents explanations on how contexts and individual characteristics can impact human motivation. Understanding how motivation works is of paramount importance for Human Resource Management strategies in the public sector, because the qualitative, complex work that predominates in this area cannot be driven by the “bottom line”. Over the past 50 years, SDT research has conducted numerous empirical studies, yielding knowledge that has been shown to be useful to both private and public organisations. This knowledge can help HR professionals to properly respond to challenges that they frequently encounter in the public sector, such as: Why pay-for-performance programmes are likely to fail in public organisations? Is it possible to increase motivation for Training and Development activities? How to conduct performance evaluations without depleting public servants’ motivation? This chapter describes SDT’s main features and discusses research findings that can help professionals devise effective HRM interventions in the public sector.