The Effect of Gender on Performance in a Web-Based Knowledge Communication Task

This study was conducted in a mid-sized University in the southern part of the U.S. Eighty subjects participated in an experiment that assessed their performance in learning about international trade terms through a series of web-based screens. The objective of the study was to test the relationships between age, motivation to do well in the task, gender, scholastic ability, (GPA) and performance in a knowledge communication task. Performance was assessed through the participants’ ability to learn about international trade terms (content performance), and to recall aspects of the web-based screens through which those terms were learned (details performance). The results suggest that age positively influences motivation, females have better details performance than males, and GPA positively influences content performance. INTRODUCTION The assessment of the influence of motivation on task performance has been a topic of study for a number of years (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Some of the first studies of the relationship of motivation and performance date back to the 1930’s and some studies are still being conducted today (Seo et al., 2004 on Kanfer, 1991). These studies have led to the proposal of a number of motivation theories (Robbins & Coulter, 2005). Another factor which can moderate task performance is gender. There have been a number of studies which use gender as the differentiating variable in the learning patterns as well as the outcomes produced by individuals in the academic and corporate worlds (Meyers-Levy, 1989; Graham et al., 2002; Chung & Monroe, 2001). In a number of these studies the results indicate that women have the tendency to be more detail oriented than men (Graham et al., 2002). In addition, the types of motivation often differ for women and men. Women tend to be intrinsically motivated as opposed to extrinsically motivated (Liping, 2000). While men and women may have similar expectations for the future, women tend to be goal setters, often focusing on deeper, more personal goals than men and these differences may lead to different performance levels between the two (Greene & DeBacker, 2004). In other words, through existing studies one can see that there are relationships between motivation, gender and performance. The study presented here was conducted in a mid-sized university located in the south of the United States. The learning performance of a group of subjects was assessed at two levels: content performance and details performance. Both content performance and details performance of the participants was evaluated though the use of web-based screens in order to test the relationships between age, motivation, gender, GPA and performance. The objective of this study was to develop, as well as test, a theoretical model which can help clarify the nature of these relationships. BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES Motivation can be defined as the degree to which an individual seeks to achieve a goal, while fulfilling a personal need (Robbins & Coulter, 2005). There are two types of motivation which can influence an individual: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation acts as a reflection of human nature. It relates to the innate tendency in human beings to engage in certain actions. This kind of motivation cannot be enhanced through tangible rewards because the reward, consists of a feeling of accomplishment or satisfaction which is provided by the action itself (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Deci & Ryan (1991) believe that those who are intrinsically motivated tend to “have more interest, excitement, and confidence” than those who are extrinsically motivated (p. 69). Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, relates to an expectation of an outcome or a fulfillment of a requirement as the reason for performing an action. That is, the activity is not performed “just for fun. ” The individual has an interest in the outcome of the activity as well as in the associated rewards (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation may lead to increased learning levels as well as improved performance (Ryan & Connell, 1989; Deci & Ryan, 1996). Because motivation is related to performance, researchers have been interested in finding out what motivates individuals (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Several motivation theories have resulted from this interest, some dating back to the 1930’s (Seo et al., 2004 on Kanfer, 1991). Well-known motivation theories include Maslow’s (1954) hierarchy of needs theory, Skinner’s (1971) reinforcement theory, Vroom’s (1964) expectancy theory, and Adam’s (1965) equity theory. These theories are all related to performance and convey the idea that in order to achieve a desired outcome there should be some type of motivation in place. Therefore, it is expected in this study that a student with higher motivation will also have an increased performance. Since this study uses content and detailsrelated performance measurements, the following is hypothesized: H1: Higher motivation will lead to higher content performance. H2: Higher motivation will lead to higher details performance. A number of studies have also explored the relationship between age and motivation. In these studies age has been found to influence attitudes and motivation in the work environment (Schamback, 2001 on Igbaria & Greenhaus, 1992; Warr & Birdi, 1998). Wolfgang and Dowling (1981) studied the differences in motivation between young and adult college students and Digelidis and Papaioannou (1999) studied the difference in motivation between different age groups of students. These studies recognize that a relationship exists between different age groups and their motivation levels. Since much of the existing research suggests that age is likely to have a positive effect on motivation, the following is hypothesized: Managing Worldwide Operations & Communications with Information Technology 1133 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. H3: More years of age in an individual will lead to increased motivation. Chen et al. (1997) found that motivation levels in men and women can be equally high. However, women tend to be more goal oriented than men and their goals tend to be of a more intrinsic nature than those of men (Greene & DeBacker, 2004). Because women’s goals are of a more personal nature, female students in this study are expected to have higher motivation levels. Gender is another factor which can affect the learning process. Pearsall et al. (1996) found that gender mediates biology students’ learning processes and Rochford & Mangino (2006) found that gender and achievement level can cause differences in a student’s learning needs. Studies such as these have found that males and females learn differently, due to biological as well as social factors (Bevan, 2001; Miller et al., 2001; Giordano & Rochford, 2005). Taking such differences into consideration can help students increase their learning abilities (Rochford & Mangino, 2006). A number of researchers have also found that males and females differ in the way they process information (Honingsfeld & Dunn, 2003; Bevan, 2001; Ablard & Lipshultz, 1998). Males look for simpler patterns of information which may stand out, while women look at more subtle details in the information (Meyers-Levy, 1989; Graham et al. 2002; Chung & Monroe, 2001). In addition, females tend to pay more attention than males to certain details. Because these studies lead to some expectations regarding the relationships between motivation, gender and performance the following is hypothesized: H4: Female students will have higher motivation. H5: Female students will NOT have a higher level of content-oriented performance. H6: Female students will have a higher level of detail-oriented performance. Finally, in this study, grade point average (GPA) is used as a control variable because of its relation to academic performance (Zheng & Saunders, 2002). In African-American females, a high GPA has been linked to a better perception of the self (Saunders, et.al. 2004). Having an increased self-perception, which is related to having a high GPA, is likely to positively affect the performance of males as well as females. Figure 1 presents the complete model of this study including this control variable. RESEARCH METHOD This study was conducted through a web-based experiment involving 80 subjects. All the subjects were business students from a mid-size university in the southern part of the United States. The sample included both graduate and undergraduate students. More than 80 percent of the subjects were undergraduates. Slightly over 50 percent of the subjects were female and the average age was 25. The experiment was divided into a learning module section and a survey section. The first section consisted of ten learning modules containing ICC Incoterms 2000. Context details, consisting of four different capital letters individually framed by a colored square, were also included in each one of the modules. The second section of the experiment consisted of a web-based survey which subjects were required to complete after reading the time-controlled modules. The instrument was designed to measure content performance, details-oriented performance, and perceived motivation. In order to measure content performance, three multiple-choice questions were asked for each module. The subjects’ performance was assessed by dividing the number of correct answers by thirty (which was the maximum number of correct answers). The details performance was calculated in a similar way since the options for the colors and letters were provided in drop boxes from which subjects could choose. This study lasted approximately one hour; twenty-five minutes were spent on the learning module section, and the remaining time was spent on the survey. To serve as motivation, the subjects were offered extra credit points which were depend