Work motivation in the context of expectancy theory: A research on bank employees of Cameroon

Work motivation has always been an important aspect of organizational behavior. Over the years many theories have been made and implemented because it is crucial for an organization to understand what motivates its employees in order to boost their performance and productivity. This study examines work motivation in the context of Expectancy Theory of bank employees of Cameroon. It was conducted through a literature review and an empirical analysis. A survey of 26 questions was administered to bank employees of Cameroon regardless their age, gender or hierarchical position and 189 responses were collected. According to the Expectancy Theory as suggested by Vroom (1964), three variables which are expectancy, instrumentality and valence affect work motivation. The datas were analysed through descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. The findings indicated that the Expectancy Theory can explain Work Motivation of bank employees of Cameroon considering the model summary of the Multiple Regression Analysis. Also, among the three independents variables, expectancy and valence have a positive effect on work motivation while intrumentality does not. Keywords: organization, expectancy theory, motivation, expectation, instrumentality, valence.