Herzberg, hygiene and the motivation to reuse: Towards a three-factor theory to explain motivation to share and use OER

The list of barriers and enablers identified as influencing the use of open educational resources (OER) is extensive. However, factors and influences relating to reuse have often been noted within projects operating within a short time span, or subject to other specific conditions which limit generalizability. Evidence of reuse in practice has often emerged as isolated examples or anecdotes independent of context. While technical barriers and enablers to reuse have been well addressed in literature on reuse, from reusable learning objects (RLO) to OER, less attention has been given to the purpose of reuse and the motivation of those who choose to share or use reusable learning resources. Which factors have impact or influence on reuse, and how they relate to each other, is largely unexplored. This paper draws on a longitudinal cross case comparison of five facilitation initiatives within UK HE which represented differing approaches to reuse activity (i.e. sharing and use) (Pegler, 2012). Coding and comparison in that research identified 222 factors related to reuse and suggested three broad and distinctive categories representing the type of factor associated with reuse activity (or lack) within project and other contexts. These were: Technical (the technical or technological systems or processes supporting reuse, including licensing and rights issues); Quality (the way in which sharers or users may establish or interpret the quality of one resource or reuse service relative to another); and Motivation (the purpose or motive underlying engagement with the activity and the conditions that this may suggest). The relatively independent effect of these factors, and the way they appear to influence reuse, recalls the classic two factor theory of motivation by Herzberg (1968).