Understanding Research Orientation in Academic Institutions: The Influence of Motivations and Moderating Factors

The central ambition of this doctoral research is to advance theoretical understanding on the factors, both internal and external, that motivate and influence an individual’s research orientation around basic, applied and/or commercial research.
Through the literature review, three broad themes emerged: intrinsic and extrinsic motivations as drivers of research orientation; the influence of the institution; and influence of the researcher profile.
To examine these themes, a conceptual model and a set of hypotheses were developed based on a review of extant literature, and data (n=270) were gathered through an online survey of researchers from across Europe. Hypotheses were tested through statistical analysis employing confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical moderated linear regression.
The study shows that both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations impact the individual's research orientation, and each motivation has a distinct effect. Additionally, institutional and personal factors moderate the impact of these motivations on research orientation. The study's primary contribution is the empirical examination of the interplay between intrinsic motivations, extrinsic motivations, demographic characteristics, institutional environments and research orientation. This study is important due to its integrated approach, which is lacking in existing literature and is relevant to academic institutions' drive to increase research impact.
This contributes to scholarly understanding of the individual researcher and their place within systems of innovation and adds to the body of knowledge produced within the fields of research policy and evaluation.
The research has implications for policy and management, including the need to address gender inequality in researcher careers, as gender significantly moderates the relationship between researchers' motivations and their research orientation. The study findings also, for example, highlight limitations of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and suggest that future research assessment should consider additional motivations such as academic freedom, baseline funding, and socially/civically aware research programs.