An Exploration of the Various Power Bases and their Influence on Employee Motivation

Abstract

In a study conducted more than fifty years ago, French and Raven (1959) established a five-fold typology of power namely, coercive, reward, legitimate, expert and referent power that influences change. Having a motivated workforce is crucial for any organisation as it improves overall efficiency and effectiveness (Varma, 2017). The purpose of this study was firstly, to identify and explore how an employee’s motivation can be affected through the various power bases used by a leader and secondly, to identify if employees experience more than one power base in an organisation. A qualitative inductive approach was utilised for this study as the aim was to understand and explore an employee’s experience in an organisation and how power influenced their motivation (Nieuwenhuis, 2020a). Three in-depth online interviews were conducted with standardised open-ended questions as it allowed the researcher to obtain their beliefs, opinions and perspectives regarding a certain phenomenon (Strydom & Bezuidenhout, 2014). All three participants had positive motivational experiences in relation to the powers that their managers used namely, referent, expert and legitimate power (French & Raven, 1959). The findings have the possibility to assist managers and leaders in terms of understanding what power motivates or de-motivates employees in an organisation.