Motivation of higher education faculty: Theoretical approaches, empirical evidence, and future directions

We explore and elaborate on four questions to inspire future research on faculty motivation. The first question asks why we should be concerned with the motivations of higher education faculty in the first place, particularly in regard to studying them empirically? Moreover, if research on higher education faculty motivation is important, why is it still rather underdeveloped? Building on this, considering the plethora of motivation frameworks, we wondered which theories apply well to faculty members and how they align with one another? Finally, what should thorough international research on faculty motivation entail? This question encompasses a search for solutions on what could be done to broaden the scope of this important line research.