Strategic Leadership, Commitment and Employee Motivation: what influences attitudes towards the workplace

This article presents an overview of recent research that has been conducted into how leadership, specifically inspirational leadership, affects employee motivation, and how strategic decision making can be improved by behavioural game theory. Further, studies on which HR measures drive employee commitment, as well as on personal differences and their impact on commitment and satisfaction are discussed. Twenty years after the landmark McKinsey study (Chambers et al., 1998), the “war for talent” still continues. How to increase employees’ commitment to the organisation is of central importance to the ongoing policy debate on the development and especially the retention of the workforce. In a time of rapidly changing economic environments, organisations cannot afford to be inefficient and let potential go untapped. Motivation can be defined as energy and direction that drives cognition or behaviour (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Equally, individuals strive for satisfaction at work as well as personal fulfilment. This article compiles current research findings in the areas of management science and organisational psychology, illustrating how leadership style, strategic decision making, HR measures, and personal differences contribute to a committed and motivated workforce. The following abstract of this article discusses research on how leadership styles can influence employee motivation and commitment. Next, theoretical concepts of strategic decision making are discussed, specifically behavioural game theory as a practical model compared to traditional game theory. Examples of practical application illustrate how behavioural game theory can inform management decisions. Then, analyses of specific HR measures and their impact on employee commitment are presented. The final abstract presents an analysis of individual differences’, specifically intelligence’, relation to commitment and job satisfaction.