Intrinsic motivation sources as pillars of sustainable internal marketing communication in turbulent post-pandemic times

The main aim of the article is to identify the changes in employees’ sources of intrinsic motivation caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to discuss prospective modifications to formulated patterns of internal marketing communication. The novelty of the research lies in two main aspects: (1) the necessity to revise the traditional concept of motivation caused by the pandemic and (2) own methodological approach. While the first aspect reflects the lack of appropriate scientific attention paid to this issue, the second aspect develops methodological approaches applied so far in the research of intrinsic motivation sources. The goal of the paper has been achieved via own questionnaire research of the traditional quadratic structure of the intrinsic motivation sources of employees. The data from socio-demographically representative sample of 2000 respondents have been in accordance with contemporary trends in managerial analytics analysed via factor analysis and relevant statistic tests. It has been found that the ranking of intrinsic motivation sources before the COVID-19 pandemic was the following: (1) sense of choice; (2) sense of meaningfulness; (3) sense of progress and (4) sense of competence. The ranking of intrinsic motivation sources during the COVID-19 pandemic was the following: (1) sense of choice; (2) sense of progress; (3) sense of meaningfulness; and (4) sense of competence. Based on the identified changes in intrinsic motivation sources and their components, it can be stated that the pandemic has significantly influenced the existing principles and patterns of internal marketing communication. These should be critically reconsidered, and motivation systems should be revised to contribute to the optimal performance of the company on the market and its sustainable development by focusing on the financial situation of the company, significant for the economic pillar; the change in individual value scales, significant for the environmental pillar; and the phenomenon of millennials, significant for the social pillar. By intersecting these pillars, sustainability can be reached based on finding optimum motivation.