Motivation of Scandinavian Knowledge Workers : a survey of methods and their effectiveness

Abstract: The aim of this thesis was to identify and examine contemporary motivational theories and see how they fit to the Scandinavian knowledge worker. Two theories (SDT and 4-drive) were selected for empirical research. One survey of a total of 139 respondents from organisations located in Scandinavia showed that the SDT theory cannot be considered more effective than other motivational theories when it comes to motivation of Scandinavian knowledge workers. It was further shown that 4-drive theory could be effective in the Scandinavian culture, but ineffective in terms of monetary incentives. The literature research showed that there is a strong need for further research in the topic of motivating knowledge workers in the Scandinavian work environment.