Motivation at work: Case studies of Portuguese SMEs

Abstract

This study intends to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the motivation of the employees of three Portuguese Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with the statutes of Excellence, Leader and both statutes. These statutes were assigned by the Institute for Support to Small and Medium Enterprises and Innovation. A questionnaire was applied in 2016 based on the Multi-Factorial Scale and a brief interview with the managers of these Portuguese companies was conducted. It was found that the dimensions “work organization” and “commitment” presented lower results in the three companies, while the other dimensions had higher ones in terms of motivation at work. Only in the “performance” dimension were there significant differences in motivation at work that occurred between SME Leader and SME Excellence. It should be noted that, according to the results obtained, both in the opinion of managers and employees, the statutes did not contribute to motivation at work.