ERG Theory

ERG Theory

Clayton Alderfer’s ERG theory combines Maslow’s five needs into three need levels: existence, relatedness
and growth.
1. Existence needs include the various forms of material and physiological desires, such as food and 2. Relatedness needs address our relationships with significant others, such as families, friendship
groups, work groups and professional groups.
3. Growth needs impel creativity and innovation, along with the desire to have a productive impact
on our surroundings.
4. ERG needs differ in concreteness, i.e. the degree to which their presence or absence can be
verified.
5. The satisfaction-progression principle is a principle that states that satisfaction of one level of
need encourages concern with the next level.
6. Besides disagreeing as to the number of need levels that might exist, the ERG theory differs from
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory in three other significant ways:
a. Although the general notion of a hierarchy is retained, Alderfer’s theory argues that we can be
concerned with more than one need category at the same time.
b. ERG theory is more flexible in acknowledging that some individuals’ needs may occur in a
somewhat different order than the posited by the ERG framework.
c. ERG theory incorporates a frustration regression principle which states that if we are
continually frustrated in our attempts to satisfy a higher-level need, we may cease to be
concerned about that need.