Will tertiary lecturers’ research motivations differ from publication types in developing countries? A case study of Vietnam

Abstract

This research is based on expectancy theory to investigate “internal attraction” and “external attraction” and integrate “belief” into the research framework that motivates lecturers to publish their research. Findings of regression analysis from a sample of 475 lecturers in business and economics have revealed that lecturers are motivated by both “internal attraction” and “external attraction”; however, the impact of “internal attraction” is stronger than that of “external attraction” on international publication but weaker on national publication. Belief is found not to influence motivation for national research publications, but negatively influences motivation for international research publications. The research results also reveal that the motivation for international research publications of professors and associate professors is higher than the motivation of other lecturers, irrespective of age and gender. Based on the research results, proper implications for policies to foster motivation for international and national research publications have been suggested for developing countries with constant changes in science and education.