ABSTRACT
Role motivation theory was presented for many years as dealing essentially with motivational constructs, in much the same manner as achievement motivation theory. From its origin, however, the theory has focused on managers and leaders of various kinds without making this leadership orientation explicit. The role motivation theory was then expanded to state that managerial motivation would explain and predict the success of managers in bureaucratic organizations with multiple levels of hierarchy, but it would not work with nonmanagers, and it would not work in structures other than the bureaucratic ones. While at Atlantic, John Miner taught a course for managers in the Research and Development (R&D) with the objective of arousing their interest in managing. The chapter presents that the initial studies on each theory mentioned previously, including the Atlantic research within a hierarchy, the Academy of Management study within universities, and the analysis of high-tech entrepreneurs within task systems, all produced positive findings as to theoretical validity.
