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Management & Leadership vocabulary · Motivation and Feedback

Expectancy theory

Meaning in management & leadership, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In management & leadership, expectancy theory means: A theory linking motivation to beliefs that effort can produce performance, performance can bring outcomes and those outcomes are valued.

In Turkish: beklenti kuramı

How it is used

Use to examine the links between effort, performance and valued rewards; all three links matter in the model.

Example sentences

  1. Expectancy theory suggested that larger bonuses would not help staff who lacked the tools to meet targets.

    A valued reward cannot repair a weak belief that effort will produce performance.

  2. We used expectancy theory to ask whether employees actually wanted the rewards on offer.

    The attractiveness of an outcome is separate from its likelihood.

Common collocations

  • expectancy theory of motivation
  • apply expectancy theory
  • motivationThe reasons and energy that make a person want to do something and keep doing it, such as interest in the work, recognition, money or a sense of purpose.
  • incentiveSomething, such as a bonus, a commission or an extra day off, that is offered to encourage people to work harder or to behave in a particular way.

More terms: Motivation and Feedback

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