Fat cats or sociable wolves? Swedish real estate brokers and intrinsic rewards - A quantitative empirical generalization

Purpose Intrinsic motivation affects job satisfaction and turnover intention. Still, previous motivational studies among real estate brokers (brokers) have primarily focused on extrinsic rewards, leaving intrinsic rewards/motivation practically unexplored. The purpose of this study is therefore to evaluate the role of both satisfaction with intrinsic rewards (SIR) and satisfaction with extrinsic rewards (SER) on job satisfaction and turnover intention among Swedish brokers. Design/methodology/approach This article is a replication, more precisely an empirical generalization and extension, of Mosquera et al .’s (2020) study conducted among brokers in Portugal. Using a sample of 910 Swedish brokers, the study analyzes a conceptual framework and tests hypotheses by using partial least squares (PLS). Findings Results indicate that SIR has a very strong impact on job satisfaction, which is not the case in the Portuguese sample. On the other hand, SER does not have an impact on job satisfaction, which is the case in the Portuguese sample. SIR does not have an impact on turnover intention in the Swedish sample, whereas SER does. Job satisfaction has twice the positive impact on turnover intention in the Swedish sample compared to the Portuguese. Furthermore, job satisfaction mediates the relationship between SIR/SER and turnover intention. Research limitations/implications Findings of this study extend the existing literature of satisfaction with extrinsic and in particular intrinsic rewards on job satisfaction and turnover intention in the context of the brokerage industry. The most interesting difference between the samples is that Swedish brokers display much higher levels of satisfaction with intrinsic rewards. On the other hand, Swedish brokers appear to be less driven by extrinsic rewards, which is not in line with prior studies within brokerage. Practical implications Both managers and students planning to become brokers should consider that SIR has a stronger impact on job satisfaction than SER. What are perceived as intrinsic rewards, however, is highly subjective, which is troublesome from a managerial perspective, even more so as SIR is much harder to influence than SER. Given that intrinsic motivation is primarily a consequence of needs fulfillment, screening of applicants for person-job fit ought to increase job satisfaction and reduce turnover given its focus on the congruence between job demands and worker’s needs, respectively, what a job provides and the worker’s needs. Originality/value This study contributes to the brokerage research field by indicating that being a broker differs substantially between countries and that intrinsic rewards matter for Swedish brokers.