Impacts of Organizational Factors on Work Motivation and Job Performance: Evidence from SMEs in Vietnam

This study estimates the influence of organizational-level factors on work motivation and job performance of middle managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam. A 5-point-Likert-scale structural questionnaire consisting of 36 observation variables was used to survey middle managers of Vietnamese SMEs. 425 out of 500 responses collected were valid for multivariate data analysis. The results of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling reveal three main findings. First, philosophy and policy, compensation and benefits, goal system, and leadership have positively significant impacts on the work motivation of middle managers under investigation. Second, there is a significantly positive influence of work motivation on job performance. However, there is no indication that growth opportunities, work environment, evaluation system have significant impacts on the work motivation of respondents. Based on the findings, the study suggests four recommendations for Vietnamese SMEs to improve motivation and job performance of middle managers, which are (1) ensuring the clarity and soundness of the organizational policies and philosophies, especially human resources policy that boosts employees’ work motivation; (2) building a comprehensive compensation and benefit system to attract and retain talented employees; (3) developing a clear and adequate goal system; (4) enhancing top-level managers’ leadership abilities.