"Social" recognition at work, intrinsic motivation and performance of employees in a Senegalese public hospital.

This research examines the relationship between recognition from superiors, intrinsic motivation and work performance. It raises an issue partially explored in organizational behavior, particularly in the hospital environment. Based on a sample of 158 employees of a Senegalese public hospital, this research provides the beginnings of a response to a number of theoretical studies which conclude that social recognition is potentially more powerful than financial recognition. The results, derived from structural equation modelling in LISREL, supplemented by an analysis of indirect effects (Hayes, 2013), show that recognition from superiors can indeed be a major determinant of motivation and performance at work. Indeed, this form of recognition at work has a strong explanatory power for the motivation and performance of employees. More specifically, it is strongly associated with intrinsic motivation and task performance. It explains at least 23% of the variation in employees' motivation and over 74% of their task performance when they are intrinsically motivated. Consequently, this research provides significant empirical support for many theoretical advances that have yet to be elucidated from a practical point of view. It does, however, show that the positive influence of recognition from superiors on job performance depends, in reality, on the type of performance being assessed: task performance or contextual performance. At the same time, this research highlights the decisive role of intrinsic motivation in fostering employee performance. It thus involves almost unprecedented theoretical and managerial contributions, resulting from research whose theoretical premises have not yet been sufficiently answered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]