Russian scientists’ motivation and research performance issue

The paper deals with the problem of uncovering the motivation structure of Russian scientists’ research, assessing the role learning and self-fulfillment motives play in it and the way those motives are connected to their performance indicators. In order to do that, we propose a model of connection between needs and priority motives characteristic for scientists, uncover a hierarchy of research motives and the level of their fulfillment on the job, define a motivational core and explain its factor structure. We used data from an online survey of Russian scientists (N = 551) taken in the second half of 2022 as a database for our study. We have discovered two main motives for doing research: pleasure gained from one’s work and work independence. They are typical for more than a half of scientists. We found that the work independence motive had a substantial impact on performance. We estimated that out of independent variables used for the analysis, the variations in the academic degree, research field and organization type where scientists were employed had the most differentiating effect on the motivation structure. The factor analysis of motives manifesting in research enabled us to find a single factor propped up by learning values per se, unrelated to tangible, pragmatic or prestige concerns. Links to that factor yielded characteristics typical for increased productivity. Our conclusion is that motivation has a chance to remain a reliable element of scientific human capital only when intangible motives clearly dominate tangible ones.