A Survey of Non-Material Motivation Methods for Chinese Entrepreneurial Enterprises

Abstract

Background There were 17.831 million small and micro enterprises in China, accounting for 98.4% of all enterprises in China. Most of China's small and micro enterprises are entrepreneurial enterprises, and they play an very important role in China's economic growth and employment. The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze the non-material motivation methods for employees in Chinese entrepreneurial enterprises, and to provide data support and theoretical basis for Chinese entrepreneurial enterprises to improve their non-material motivation methods. Methods This study used questionnaires to collect information about non-material motivation methods from Chinese entrepreneurial enterprises. We obtained 189 employee responses from 11 Chinese startups. Result After statistical analysis, it was found that Chinese startups rarely provide respect motivation, trust motivation and participation motivation, while most Chinese employees want their companies to provide communication motivation and participation motivation. Female employees of Chinese startups may get less non-material motivation than male employees. Conclusion This survey suggested that respect motivation, trust motivation, communication motivation, and participation motivation were non-material motivation methods that Chinese entrepreneurial enterprises need to improve. At the same time, Chinese entrepreneurial enterprises should pay more attention to non-material motivation for female employees.