Empowerment and intrinsic motivation of employees: A case study of virtual team leaders

ABSTRACT

The existing literature on intrinsic motivation and empowerment predates the increased organizational adoption of virtual work arrangements for employees in the United States of America. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift toward dispersed teams, highlighting the interest to understand whether existing literature on empowerment and intrinsic motivation still applies in virtual work settings. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the ways that virtual team leaders use empowerment to influence the intrinsic motivation of their direct-line virtual employees. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 U.S.-based virtual team leaders in mid and large-sized software organizations with at least two U.S.-based direct-line virtual employees. The study findings indicated that virtual team leaders use empowerment with their direct-line virtual employees to set expectations, provide autonomy, and encourage risk-taking. The findings also revealed that virtual team leaders believe their employees are motivated by opportunities that provide growth and learning, promote problem-solving and achievement, offer a connection to department or organizational purpose, and appeal to employees' interests. Conclusions drawn from the study underscore the need to continue research on empowerment and intrinsic motivation in various virtual contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)