Need satisfaction, motivation, and well-being in the work organizations ofa former eastern bloc country: A cross-cultural study of self-determination

Past studies in U.S. work organizations have supported a model derived from self-determination theory in which autonomy-supportive work climates predi ct satisfaction of the intrinsic needs for competence, autonomy, and relate dness, which in turn predict task motivation and psychological adjustment o n the job. To test this model cross-culturally, the authors studied employe es of state-owned companies in Bulgaria, a country that has traditionally h ad a central-planning economy, a totalitarian political system, and collect ivist values. A sample from a privately owned American corporation was used for comparison purposes. Results using structural equation modeling sugges ted that the model fit the data from each country, that the constructs were equivalent across countries, and that some paths of the structural model f it equivalently for the two countries but that county moderated the other p aths.