What kind of faculty are motivated to perform research by the desire for promotion?

Abstract

A policy of adding a new rank to the faculty career ladder was implemented in Taiwan in 1994. It was believed that structural changes of the incentive system would change faculty research behavior. This paper explores the question: Who are motivated to perform research by the desire for promotion? A mail survey investigating Taiwanese faculty members was conducted. The results show that the answer varies by different performance measures. Those who publish for the promotion reward tend also to be motivated by other external and internal rewards. Among all rewards, the most important to many faculty is an increase in personal income. Holding one`s valence score on promotion constant, faculty with better research performance tends to be those who possess doctoral degrees. The results show that faculty in public institutions perform better than their private-institution counterparts, regardless of promotion valence. Finally, alternative policies to improve faculty research performance are recommended.