Exploring the necessary roles of basic psychological needs at work: A necessary condition analysis

Abstract

Self-determination theory (SDT) postulates that all humans have basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. SDT scholars employ a necessity logic to define and interpret the roles of psychological need satisfaction for optimal human development. However, traditional regression techniques, often applied to test hypotheses derived from SDT, are unsuitable for testing necessity statements. To achieve a theory-method alignment, we employed necessary condition analysis (NCA) to examine whether basic psychological needs at work are necessary for employees' intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, life satisfaction, and vigour at work. Study 1's cross-sectional data (N = 550; Germany) and Study 2's time-lagged data (N = 417; UK and US) generally support the necessary roles of need satisfaction. Notably, intrinsic motivation and vigour are especially constrained by basic psychological need satisfaction. This research advances SDT by providing more precise accounts of the theory from a necessity-oriented lens. We also highlight the importance of management practices that can satisfy employees' basic psychological needs at work.