The accuracy of the Motivating By Appreciation Inventory: a construct validity study

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the question: Does the Motivating By Appreciation (MBA) Inventory accurately identify the ways that individuals prefer to be shown appreciation by their colleagues at work? Design/methodology/approach Over 400 remote employees responded to an online questionnaire, answering an open-ended question regarding how they liked to be shown appreciation by colleagues. Their answers were coded according to the four languages of appreciation assessed by the MBA Inventory, and then a pairwise comparison was completed with their primary language of appreciation as identified by the MBA Inventory. Findings In total, 80% of the participants’ responses matched their preferred appreciation language from specific actions given with their primary language of appreciation on the MBA Inventory. A chi-square analysis was found to be highly statistically significant ( p < 0.001) and the Cramer V effect size (0.61) indicated a strong relationship between the observed and expected number of matches. As a result, the MBA Inventory was found to be highly accurate in identifying individuals’ preferred appreciation language when comparing their primary language of appreciation to specific actions they identified as meaningful to them. Research limitations/implications Participants were remote employees, with a majority being 40 years old or older. Therefore, caution should be taken in generalizing these results to other populations. Practical implications HR practitioners can use the MBA Inventory with a reasonable amount of confidence that the results are accurate. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, no other research exploring the validity of an online assessment of appreciation is known.