Competing models of how motivation, opportunity, and ability drive job performance in project teams

The motivation–opportunity–ability (MOA) framework is well established in organizational behaviour and specifies complementarity among motivation, opportunity, and ability in driving behaviour. Despite decades of research, the precise inter-relationship among the MOA variables and how they interact to influence performance behaviours still remain largely unclear. Three competing models, a multiplicative, linear and constraining-factor model (CFM), reflecting different levels of complementarity and interaction among motivation, opportunity and ability, and their impact on performance behaviours are specified. These models offer fresh perspectives on interaction effects in organizational behaviour and on how to drive performance in organizations. To test the specified competing models, a quantitative methodology appears appropriate. This will require operationalizing the MOA as well as the performance behaviour variables and measuring them through quantitative questionnaire surveys. Subsequent empirical test of the competing models will confirm whether the constraining-factor model (CFM) is a superior model that provides a better explanation of the variance in performance behaviours than the traditional multiplicative and linear models.