The Business of Belonging: How to Make Community your Competitive Advantage

by David Spinks

Extrinsic motivations are things you do in order to earn a reward or avoid punishment, both things that are provided to us by external people or systems. Examples of extrinsic motivations for communities are things like point systems, badges, or getting a shout out from the community manager. Intrinsic motivations are things you do because you genuinely enjoy and value doing them, regardless of the external rewards or punishments. Self-determination theory says that intrinsic motivation is driven by three things: competence, relatedness, and autonomy.3 We can find all three in communities. People join communities to grow their skills and learn, to connect with other people, and are more likely to contribute when they feel a sense of ownership.