Smith, David (2012) Relating Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction at Work to Engaging Leadership within the framework of Self-Determination Theory. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Organisational researchers and Self-Determination theorists postulate that motivation enacted through workplace leadership enables the satisfaction of a worker’s universal basic psychological needs. With increasing globalisation and successive global financial crises, researchers have become acutely aware of today’s rapid rate of workplace change and the importance of the degree to which a leader can influence the satisfaction of a worker’s needs at work. However, few studies have drawn on recent developments in both, engaging leadership and self-determination theory (SDT) to investigate how workplace leadership and basic needs satisfaction at work relate. This study uses recent developments in transformational leadership and SDT’s universal basic psychological needs framework to investigate the relationship between engaging leadership and the satisfaction of workers’ needs at work. This study extends previous U.K.-based study in the area by using data derived from a cross-section of Australian government and non-government employees and private enterprise employees. Two hundred and forty-seven Australian workers (57.5% women and 42.5% men) aged over 20 years, and employed 30 hours or more per week completed an online survey. The survey used the Transformational Leadership Questionnaire-Research Version (TLQ; Alimo-Metcalfe & Alban-Metcalfe, 2000a) to assess engaging leadership factors and the Work-Related Basic Needs Satisfaction scale (W-BNS; Van den Broeck, Vansteenkiste, de Witte, Soenens & Lens, 2010) to assess the satisfaction of basic psychological needs at work. Factor analysis and standard multiple regression were used to explore the TLQ and W-BNS factor structures and relationships. Theoretical models were tested in structural equation modelling (SEM) to establish how this study’s sets of variables defined constructs and how those constructs related. Six engaging leadership factors (Showing genuine concern, Being honest consistent and accessible, Networking and achieving, Enabling, Being decisive and Output variables) and three basic needs factors (Autonomy, Relatedness, and Competence) were extracted and found to be mostly consistent with their respective measures. TLQ Enabling subscale was found to be the most important predictor of W-BNS Relatedness (β = .35, sr2 = .05), Competence (β = .26, sr2 = .03), Autonomy (β = .44, sr2 = .07). SEM identified a plausible model that fit the data well (RMSEA = .06; ECVI = .12, CI (90%) = .11 to .17, p = .12). SEM showed a construct where Enabling (β = .57), with Output variables as a partial mediator (β = .15), contributed 48% of variability to the positive prediction of the latent construct Basic needs satisfaction. Basic needs satisfaction in turn weighted the three basic universal psychological needs with unequal factors loadings. Basic needs satisfaction explained 59% variability in Autonomy (β = .77), 30% of the variability in Relatedness (β = .55) and 10% of the variability in Competence (β = .32). Future longitudinal research may benefit from the investigation of the causal relationships among engaging leadership, basic needs satisfaction, motivation types, and performance outcomes with a view to improving the health outcomes of Australian workers.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
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| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Psychology (Up to 30 Jun 2013) |
| Supervisors: | Tony Machin |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Oct 2025 23:21 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Oct 2025 23:21 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | autonomy ; engaging leadership ; enabling ; motivation ; transformational leadership questionnaire ; universal needs |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52766 |
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