Directorate of distance education master of business administration

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
 
This is a process theory of motivation that helps managers to 
appreciate the complexities of motivation. Victor Vroom (1964) made 
an important contribution to managers’ understanding of motivation 
through his Expectancy Theory, which is an alternative to the content 
theories. According to Vroom’s theory, individuals’ effort is based on 
their perceptions of certain factors in the work environment. They are 
termed as Expectancy, Instrumentality and Valence.  The strength of the 
motivation to perform a certain act will depend on the combination of 
the three factors. 
Valence means attraction or repulsion of an outcome to an 
individual. In order for the valence to be positive, the person must prefer 
attaining the outcome to not attaining it. A valence of zero occurs when 
the individual is indifferent towards the outcome. The valence is negative 
when the individual prefers not attaining the outcome to attaining it. 
Expectancy is the expected relationship between effort and successful 
performance. It is the probability that a particular action or effort will 
lead to a particular first level outcome, such as production or quality. 
Instrumentality is the performance-reward linkage. It is the degree to 
which a first-level outcome will lead to a desired second-level outcome 
such as money, recognition, job security or career growth.