A study of motivational factors for

A study of motivational factors for accounting educators: What are their concerns?

Improving accounting educator commitment and performance is critical to the success of accounting programs. To address the goal of improving the performance of accounting educators, the authors turned to motivational theories developed by Frederick Herzberg. Herzberg developed two sets of factors: one set contained factors regarding job satisfaction, sometimes called motivators, while the second set had factors regarding job dissatisfaction which he called hygiene factors. Using Herzberg’s factors as a base, the authors developed a questionnaire. This questionnaire was sent to accounting educators in order to identify their concerns and to categorize these concerns into Herzberg’s motivating factors and hygiene factors. The results of the study revealed that accounting educators are concerned about areas such as conditions of work, making the transition from new hire to experienced tenured faculty, changes in research expectations, and changes in tenure requirements. Consistent with Herzberg’s theory, the study found that salary, while an important hygiene factor, is not a motivating factor for accounting faculty. In conclusion, the result of the study suggest that accounting departments should stress both the motivating and hygiene factors such as those shown above and work to provide an environment where these factors will lead to accounting educator and department success.