Abstract

Title: Intrinsic motivation amongst real estate agents 

Level: Bachelor’s Thesis in Business Administration

Authors:  Julius Khano och Ricky Morjaria

Supervisor: Martin Ahlenius

Date: May 2025

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is twofold. The first aim is to examine and analyze the interaction between personality traits and intrinsic motivation in relation to specific work tasks. The second aim is to examine and analyze the interaction between intrinsic motivation related to specific work tasks and job satisfaction, as well as to investigate how the intention to leave the profession correlates with job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation.

Method: The method was carried out through a combination of qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey. Experienced real estate agents were interviewed to identify key work tasks, which formed the basis for designing a survey that was then distributed to a larger sample of agents for statistical analysis of the relationships between intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, personality, and the intention to leave the profession.

Results & Analysis: The results show that intrinsic motivation is a central factor for job satisfaction and a reduced likelihood of leaving the real estate profession. Agents who experienced high intrinsic motivation in work tasks such as client relations, property acquisition, and property viewings reported higher job satisfaction.

Contribution of the Thesis: The contribution of the thesis lies in increasing the understanding of how intrinsic motivation influences job satisfaction and the intention to remain in the real estate profession. The study shows that different work tasks and personality traits affect how agents experience motivation and highlights the importance of adapting the work environment to promote autonomy and competence.

Suggestions for Future Research: Future research could investigate motivation and job satisfaction among real estate agents with larger and more diverse samples, and include additional factors such as workload and organizational support. It would also be valuable to conduct longitudinal studies to follow how motivation develops over time, as well as explore how different leadership styles affect motivation and well-being among real estate agents.

Keywords: Intrinsic motivation, self-determination theory, big five, work-satisfaction, intention to leave the industry, personality traits, real estate agent