THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURIAL MOTIVATION AND SATISFACTION: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
Mika Tuunanen, University of Jyväskylä
Principal Topic
The paper examines franchisees’ entrepreneurial motivation and satisfaction. Job satisfaction, its antecedents and outcomes has been a popular topic in organizational studies, but few investigations have focused on entrepreneurial satisfaction. This is surprising since satisfaction has been emphasized as a core factor in understanding channel member behavior, distinctively in franchising. The debated and controversial issue emerging from previous findings is the relationship between satisfaction and performance. Due to mixed results no clear evidence exists whether satisfaction causes or leads to improved performance or vice versa. On the other hand, need for achievement has been firmly related to entrepreneurial psyche, drive and impetus. In the present study both the satisfaction and need for achievement are brought to a joint empirical investigation.
Method
A six-page questionnaire was mailed to 815 franchisees representing 36 retail, service and fast food franchises. The original sample represented more than 40% of the total amount of franchisors and some 55% of all franchisees in Finland. Response rate of 42% (N=339) was obtained. Non-response bias was analyzed by conducting 143 phone interviews. No bias was found. As a result, responses from six out of ten informants were received. In order to measure the strength of franchisees’ entrepreneurial motivation, Jackson’s (1974) Achievement Scale of Personality Form was utilized. On the basis of past literature, three measures for quantifying satisfaction were developed. Franchisees’ post engagement intention and overall satisfaction was measured by two single-item scales. One multiple-item measure pertaining to franchisees’ satisfaction of key business domains was constructed by employing a component analysis. A five component model explained over 70% of the total variance. Additionally, the components extracted were distinct and interpretable, and had sufficient reliability and convergent validy. Satisfaction components explained some 40% of respondents’ overall satisfaction.
Implications
Early findings showed a weak negative and statistically insignificant correlation between need for achievement, satisfaction, and work performance. No linear causality was discovered between motivation and satisfaction. Franchisees exhibited high levels of achievement motivation. Moreover, they were generally fairly satisfied with their businesses. Less than one out of four franchisees was somewhat dissatisfied. However, there appeared to be some striking differences between dissatisfied and contented franchisees. Satisfaction seemed to have a significant effect on post engagement intention. A majority of the satisfied franchise owners indicated that they would join up again with the same franchise system if given the opportunity. Further analyses and longitudinal studies are needed to shed more light on the relationship between motivation and satisfaction. Also, more sophisticated scales are required to measure performance. Work input, i.e. hours worked weekly, is inadequate to capture this multifaceted phenomenon.
CONTACT: Mika Tuunanen, University of Jyväskylä, School of Business, P.O. Box 35, FIN-40351 Jyväskylä, Finland; (T) +358 14 2602 960; (F) +358 14 2603 343; mptuunan@tase.jyu.fi
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