Self Determination Theory (SDT): a review on SDT as a Complementary Theory of Motivation

Abstract

Self Determination theory is a comprehensive theory of motivation of human behavior supporting that humans are naturally growth oriented and seek out relationships, connections and challenges that aid humanistic growth and develop their authentic self. This paper discusses the Self Determination Theory (SDT) as a theory of motivation to enlighten the understanding of organizational researchers and practioners to complement the application of traditional motivation theories. SDT provides a useful conceptual tool for motivating people from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic automonus motivation. The extensive literature review on motivation from the SDT perspective was carried out in this study and yielded significant new understanding of work motivation, and suggest opportunities to utilise the theory for research on work-related phenomena. Furthermore, the study provides insight in how the fulfilling the needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness results self regulated human motivation with findings of different research studies. Implications of the study and suggestions for further research are presented.