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Expectancy Theory
(Vroom)

An employee's performance is based on individual factors. Explanation of Expectancy Theory of Victor Vroom. ('64)
Expectancy Theory

What is Expectancy Theory? Description

The Expectancy Theory of Victor Vroom deals with motivation and management. Vroom's theory assumes that behavior is a result from conscious choices among alternatives. The purpose of the choices is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Together with Edward Lawler and Lyman Porter, Vroom suggested that the relationship between people's behavior at work and their goals was not as simple as was first imagined by other scientists. Vroom realized that an employee's performance is based on individual factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities.

 

The expectancy theory says that individuals have different sets of goals and can be motivated if they have certain expectations.

 

Expectancy Theory expectations

  • There is a positive correlation between efforts and performance,
  • Favorable performance will result in a desirable reward,
  • The reward will satisfy an important need,
  • The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the effort worthwhile.

Vroom's Expectancy Theory is based upon the following three beliefs.

 

Expectancy Theory beliefs

  1. Valence. Refers to the emotional orientations which people hold with respect to outcomes [rewards]. The depth of the want of an employee for extrinsic [money, promotion, free time, benefits] or intrinsic [satisfaction] rewards. Management must discover what employees appreciate.

  2. Expectancy. Employees have different expectations and levels of confidence about what they are capable of doing. Management must discover what resources, training, or supervision the employees need.

  3. Instrumentality. The perception of employees whether they will actually receive what they desire, even if it has been promised by a manager. Management must ensure that promises of rewards are fulfilled and that employees are aware of that.

Vroom suggests that an employee's beliefs about Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence interact psychologically. In this way they create a motivational force, such that the employee will act in a way that brings pleasure and avoids pain. This force can be 'calculated' via a formula:

 

Expectancy Theory formula

 

Motivation = Valence x Expectancy(Instrumentality).

 

This formula can be used to indicate and predict things as: job satisfaction, occupational choice, the likelihood of staying in a job, and the effort that one might expend at work.

 

Expectancy Theory Forum

Recent User Comments
Andreas - Germany Working hard for a raise? "A consequence that should not be overlooked of the formula M = V * E * I is that even if only one of the 3 elements is zero, the resulting Motivation force will also be zero.
So if your employee either does not care about obtaining a raise at all (Valence=0) OR believes his hard work will not result in a better performance (Expectancy=0) OR thinks it is very unlikely that the organization will ever appreciate and reward his performance (Instrumentality=0), in any of these 3 cases his motivation force will be zero."		    9
Andreas - Germany Vroom versus Maslow "Unlike the Theory of Needs by Maslow, Vroom's Expectancy Theory (ET) does NOT a priori assumes there are certain needs present in a certain order or hierarchy. In ET, outcomes are (perceived as) valuable when they correspond with a personal goal. As a consequence, ET misses the general predictive capability of Maslow, but is stronger in explaining individual motivation."    4
William P. - Canada Motivating an Employee by Expectancy "According to Vroom, Expectancy is the 'momentary belief concerning the likelihood that a particular act will be followed by a particular outcome'. It can range from zero (belief that the outcome will not follow on from the act) to one (certainty that the outcome will follow on from the act)."    11
William P. - Canada Motivating an Employee by Valence "According to Vroom, Valence refers to a preference for one outcome over another. It can be positive, neutral or negative. For example, if an employee strongly desires a promotion, and believes that arriving early for work each day will earn him that promotion, then he will attach a positive valence to arriving early, and be motivated to do so, because of the perceived value of the reward. And he will have a negative valence to arriving late."    5
 - Philippines On Expectancy Theory "The discussion above enables commoners to understand more and to comprehend the concepts and principles this theory wanted to imply. The use of simple terms in the explanation, but without jeopardazing the real content of the theory itself is a big help. If I were Vroom I would greatly appreciate that my theory were understood by many and that you were able to deliver it effectively. As a reseracher seeking to analyze how people use expectancy theory in their work perfomance, this page is very useful... A huge thanks to everyone!"    2
Best User Comments
Jennifer - USA Thank You! "This short summary was extremely helpful for me. Thank you! This is a very interesting theory, and I am currently looking into possible applications to other fields of psychology (e.g. health), not just the industrial / organizational field."    14

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Compare with the Expectancy Theory on Motivation with:  Hierarchy of Needs  |  Servant-Leadership  |  Theory of Needs  |  Hawthorne Effect  |  Competing Values Framework  |  Attribution Theory  |  Framing  |  Two Factor Theory Herzberg   |  Theory X Theory Y  |  Managerial Grid  |  ERG Theory  |  Leadership Continuum  |  Path-Goal Theory  |  Leadership Styles  |  Situational Leadership  |  EPIC ADVISERS  |  Coaching  |  Mentoring

 

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  § Andreas (Germany) Expectancy "You should see expectancy as the perceived probability between effort and performance, from 0% (not all likely) to 100% or 1 (individual perceives it is sure that a given effort will lead to a desired performance)."

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  § Andreas (Germany) Valence "The valence force is unique for each individual, depending on his experiences, and may vary over time. Once anterior necessities are satisfied, new ones will always appear. It has its focus on the relationship between personal goals and rewards."

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  § Remi (NIgeria) Sociology "I have found the summary useful in my study. I am applying it to the study of entrepreneurial event. Thank you.""
  § Khurram Ali (Pakistan) Human Resource Management "Its great!!! simple, straight forward.. no fuss at all. I donno why books of hrm are not written in this way and why they long use less boring stories to explain a simple point, which most of the time only needs to be mentioed rather than explained."]"
  § Nitin Mohan (uk) HRM "this is awesome. the way its written ,easy to understand,best part is that u can compare two different theories. very very helpful"
  § Rochelle (Philippines) Industrial Psychology "This is great!!! i dont need to rush on any related books just to understand this theory... it helps me understand the topic easilly! good job!"
  § Solomon (USA) Expectancy Theory "This summary is highly applicable to Organizational Development - especially Training and Learning Practices based on Andragogic methodology. Excellent work!"
  § Ahmad (Mauritius) Expectancy theory "It kind of sums up current employment trends w.r.t. rewards and motivation. :-)"
  § Jai (UK) Great for students "This summary is great for understanding one of the many motivational theories. Great help for assignments and summarising the basics!"
  § Ajuga Chris (Uganda) Expectancy theory "The research work you have done is so helpful to me, and I believe it has added value to me, and to many others. Thanks, may you keep up the good work."
  § Marin (Macedonia) Organizational Behavior "Very helpful, nothing more - nothing less. Great help for summarising the essentials of the theory."
  § Yiting (China) Expectancy theory "Great. It's much better and easy to understand than the way written in my textbook. Thanks"
  § BHAWNA (INDIA) GREAT "The summary is excellent and can be used in class room. The learners will never forget the concept if taught this way"
  § Emily (USA) Expectancy Theory "The brief mention of using Vroom's Expectancy Theory for other areas of psychology -specifically health- was very helpful to me. Jennifer, I wonder if you are looking at how to engage consumers in their own health matters? I'm learning that everyone involved with delivering health care is pretty much puzzled about what motiviates people with respect to their own health behaviors and practies. Taking Vroom's model could be a huge help in this regard- which, as an IO pscyhologist, I should have thought of!! Thanks!!"

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