Hierarchy of Needs and Goal-Based Management: a Model of Security-Actualization of Insecurity Mismatch in Employees With Job Insecurity
DOI:
10.47353/ecbis.v4i6.641Published:
2026-10-04Downloads
Abstract
Goal-based management, from Management by Objectives (MBO) to Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), rests on a motivational assumption rooted in a managerial reading of Maslow's hierarchy of needs: employees will be tied to their jobs when given autonomy and challenging goals. McGregor (1960) makes this assumption explicit through Theory Y, with the view that the physiological and safety needs of workers are relatively met. This conceptual article examines the conditions when these premises do not apply, namely in employees who experience job insecurity. Through a theoretical synthesis of the literature on hierarchy of needs, goal setting, job insecurity, Conservation of Resources Theory, and work attachment, this article proposes the construct of Security-Actualization Misfit as a specific form of needs-supplies misfit, i.e. the misalignment between the needs that employees are prioritizing (security) and the needs served by goal-based management practices (self-actualization). The proposed model is a moderated mediation with five propositions: job insecurity increases nonconformity, especially in high-intensity goal-based practices; nonconformity decreases work attachment; its indirect effect is conditional on the intensity of the practice; job insecurity can in parallel maintain target achievement through motivation to maintain work; and personal resources attenuates the impact of nonconformity. This article also proposes construct measurement through two separate components analyzed by polynomial regression. The contribution is theoretical and underpins empirical testing, particularly in organizations that hire contract employees under a target-based performance system.
Keywords:
Hierarchy Of Needs Job Insecurity Work Attachment Purpose Based Management Needs-Supplies FitReferences
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