The joint effects of perceived motivation and ability on work behaviors and attitudes: Integrating the past and shaping the future

Abstract

An age-old adage in psychology is that people’s behavior emanates from or is an expression of their motivation and their ability. We posit that work behaviors and attitudes also depend on employees’ perceptions of motivation and ability, pertaining to others and themselves. The processes through which perceptions of motivation and ability influence employees are conceptually distinct from effects attributable to their expressions of motivation and ability. Moreover, many theoretical frameworks emphasize either perceptions of motivation or perceptions of ability. We posit that there is considerable value in considering perceptions of motivation and ability, most notably their interactive effects on work behaviors and attitudes. Doing so may not only more fully account for employees’ behaviors and attitudes, but also may promote cross-fertilization between literatures, such as organizational justice and behavioral ethics on the one hand and status and power on the other. Whereas some of our assertions have been empirically supported, others take the form of hypotheses to be tested in future research. Practical implications also are discussed.