Empirical Analysis of the Influence of Incentive Factors on University Teachers based on Grey Theory: The Case of LinYi University

Purpose - The objective of this paper is to identify how different incentive factors influence teachers with different ages and professional titles at LinYi University, China. Research design, data, and methodology - A total of 435 university teachers participated in the study, and the Grey Correlation Degree Analysis method was used to analyze the sample data. Results - The results indicated that teachers with different professional titles and ages have different levels of preference on various incentive factors. Young and assistant-level teachers seem to place more importance on incentives than associate and senior-level teachers. Conclusions - This study has some practical implications. First, the principal and school administrators should pay more attention to young and middle-aged teachers and to how these teachers are motivated through monetary incentives as compared to associate or senior-level teachers. Second, school administrators should pay more attention to teachers' opportunities for career growth and should provide more opportunity for academic promotion. In order to stimulate positivity in teachers, school administrators should adopt various incentive systems.