Can public managers rely on public service motivation during austere and chaotic times? New evidence from cognitive sciences

Morality constructs the relationship between the self and others, providing a sense of appropriateness that facilitates and coordinates social behaviors. We start from Moral Foundation Theory (MFT), and argue that multiple moral domains can shape the meaning of public service and engender Public Service Motivation (PSM). From the lens of cognitive science, we develop a causal map for PSM by understanding the social cognition process underlying PSM, focusing on five innate moralities as the potential antecedents of PSM: Care, Fairness, Authority, Loyalty, and Sanctity. Extending moral domains beyond compassion and justice can provide a disaggregated view of PSM, which may help to identify institutional and cultural variation in the meaning of PSM. We discuss the theoretical implications of synthesizing MFT and PSM literatures, and provide directions for future research that could improve our understanding of PSM.

Performance appraisal (PA) has become a prominent feature on the agenda of higher education institutions (HEIs). However, the traditional culture of the typical university is based on individual commitment, scientific teamwork, dedication to public service and intrinsic motivation of the academic staff, all of which are the essential components of public service motivation (PSM). By interviewing key informants from three public universities, the purpose of our research was to identify various tensions between PA and PSM, by asking what is the impact of PA on PSM of academics in public HEIs. Our findings have shown that the purposefulness of PA activities may not be fully understood by public HEI management and academics. The existing tensions between PA normative aims of motivation and fair evaluation and its descriptive effects of increasing bureaucracy and dissatisfaction might undermine PSM, an essential driving force that motivates academics to work in public HEIs.

Research on public service motivation, that is, motives and actions in the public domain that are intended to do good for others and shape the well-being of society, has grown significantly in the Last twenty years. Over 100 studies have been conducted in more than 20 countries, most during the Last decade. Amongm the findings of the research is that public service motivation is an important influence on a person`s willingness to join and remain in a public organization. Findings related to public service motivation and individual performance are Less clear cut and are Likely mediated by various facets of person-organization fit. Public service motivation affects ethical behavior in both social and organizational contexts, as manifest in such behaviors as blowing the whistle and applying principled reasoning to ethical dilemmas. Despite the significant progress in the study of public service motivation, many important questions remain for future research. The joint effect of public service motivation and job security on employee behavior deserves priority attention, as does the mediating effects of person-organization fit. Public service motivation research would benefit methodologically from the use of experiments and improved measurement instruments.

Purpose The purpose of the present study is twofold. First, the authors examine the potential mediating role of promotion focus in terms of the relationship between transformational leadership and work engagement. Second, the authors set out to examine whether the indirect effect of transformational leadership and follower work engagement through promotion focus is stronger when followers' public service motivations are higher versus lower. Design/methodology/approach The present study examines the association between transformational leadership behavior and employees' work engagement. Data included measures of transformational leadership behavior and promotion focus as well as public service motivation and work engagement. Utilizing a field sample of 316 employees, the study tested the proposed relationships with robust data analytic techniques. Results were consistent with the hypothesized theoretical framework, in that promotion focus mediated the relationship between transformational leadership behavior and work engagement stronger when public service motivation was high and weaker when public service motivation was low. Based on the findings, the study concludes that the connection between transformational leadership behavior and work engagements partially mediated by promotion focus and this mediated connection is stronger when employees' public service motivation is high and weak when employees' public service motivation is low—thereby yielding a pattern of moderated mediation. Findings The study findings suggest five main conclusions. First, consistent with previous studies (Aryee et al. , 2012; Bui et al. , 2017; Hetland et al. , 2018; Li et al. , 2021; Ng, 2017; Tims et al ., 2011; Zhu et al ., 2009), the study found a positive relationship between transformational leadership and employees' work engagement. Second, along the same lines of previous research (Brockner and Higgins, 2001; Hetland et al. , 2018; Johnson et al. , 2017; Kark et al. , 2018; Tung, 2016), this study found a positive association between transformational leadership and employees' promotion focus. Third, as hypnotized, the study found a positive association between employees' promotion focus and their work engagement. Fourth, as hypothesized using regulatory focus theory, promotion focus positively mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and employees' work engagement. This result elucidates the underlying mechanism that enables leadership to influence employees' work engagement, particularly, through the self-regulatory promotion focus. The result demonstrates that leadership relates to and affects basic motivations of the promotion systems, which have been known as a basic human need for development and growth. The study demonstrates that leaders may be able to promote followers' motivations by provoking a promotion focus frame and this motivational frame further shapes followers' outcomes in terms of employees' work engagement. Hence, this finding support previous research claiming that promotion focus acts as a mediating mechanism in the relationship between transformational leadership and various outcomes(e.g. Johnson et al. , 2017; Kark et al. , 2018). However, this study adds significantly to existing research by being the first study to empirically test and pay attention to the promotion focus frame as the underlying psychological mechanism through which transformational leaders motivate followers to higher levels of work engagement. Finally, consistent with the study hypothesis, public service motivation has a moderating effect on the promotion focus-work engagement association. In addition, as the study hypothesized, public service motivation has a moderating effect on the mediating relationships between transformational leadership and employees' work engagement through promotion focus in public sector organizations. It appears that the relationship between transformational leadership and followers' work engagement through promotion focus is enhanced by the role of employees' PSM. In other words, the employees' public service motivation increases employee engagement further for employees with high situational promotion focus than for employees with a low situational promotion focus, which could be explained by the fact that more public service motivation is more meaningful to followers with promotion focus motivational framework to be more engaged. That is, public servants who are predisposed to respond to motives grounded primarily or exclusively in public institutions and organizations are more engaged at work due to their self-regulatory promotion focus spirit. This result is in congruence with findings that indicate that PSM is an important driver of organizational performance and has a positive impact on organizational behavior (Ritz et al. , 2016). This finding does provide support to Bakker's (2015) proposition that PSM may strengthen the positive relationship between personal resources (e.g. optimism and self-efficacy) and work engagement because public servants with high levels of enduring PSM find their work important and meaningful. Therefore, they are likely to invest their resources in public service work, be engaged in their work and perform well. Research limitations/implications First, it examines the extent to which transformational leadership contributes to employee work engagement. That is, the current study adds to the literature by using promotion focus attributes to probe the underlying mechanism through which transformational leaders enhance employee engagement in the workplace (Kark and van Dijk, 2019). Second, by combining insights obtained from the literature on the self-regulatory theory (Higgins, 1997) and the PSM theory (Perry and Wise, 1990), this study adds to work engagement literature by showing the importance of PSM as an institutional factor in work engagement. Lastly, the study expands the transformational leadership literature by using a moderated mediating model that recognizes PSM as a situational variable in the mediating relationship between transformational leadership and employee engagement. Practical implications The results have several implications for practice. Findings reveal that transformational leaders can enhance follower work engagement by inducing their promotion focus orientation. Managers can, therefore, display more transformational behaviors, such as providing a compelling vision, communicating high expectations, promoting new ideas and giving personal attention to each employee in the workplace. In addition, managers may develop a promotion-focus orientation among their followers by appealing more to their ideals and aspirations than to their duties and responsibilities (Brockner and Higgins, 2001). Organizations, on the other hand, could offer leadership training and development programs designed to enhance transformational leadership Behaviors. As for employees' PSM, public organizations have to be more creative in attracting, selecting and retaining employees with high levels of public service motives (Kim, 2021). Public organizations can also train their employees on public service values and enhance their incentives structures to align their motivational predispositions with the organization mission and values. Originality/value The present study adds to the existing theory in two ways. First, despite significant progress in exploring the process and boundary conditions for transformational leadership with beneficial work behaviors, the study findings paid attention to the underlying psychological mechanism, precisely the self-regulatory promotion focus frame through which transformational leaders motivate followers to higher levels of work engagement. A second theoretical contribution of the present study is that it adds to the long line of research supporting a more concerted effort to understand both the moderating and mediating mechanisms that link transformational leadership to follower outcomes. By using the moderated mediating model, this study shows that transformational leaders can induce a promotion focus within followers who have developed a public service motivation profile to be more willing to engage in their organizations. The current study also has several practical implications that can be drawn from the study findings. First, organizations should become more sensitive to their employees' (promotional and preventive) self-regulatory foci. Managers should be trained to be strategically oriented toward people's growth and development. Second, by serving as role models, managers can shape their subordinates' regulatory foci. The more managers' actions suggest that they are focused on promotion, the more likely it is that their subordinates will follow suit. Third, managers may emphasize the use of positive feedback, such as praise, by giving it when employees succeed and withholding it when they fail. This feedback style is more likely to elicit a promotion focus, especially if the praise for success focuses on what the employee was able to accomplish (e.g. “You aided

Much research has focused on finding and explaining the antecedents, correlates, and outcomes of public service motivation (PSM), but little is known about the influence of national context on individuals’ PSM. Previous research suggests that national culture may exert an independent influence on individuals’ PSM. This article examines PSM as an individual-level variable that is related to national culture, which is represented by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Using data from the International Social Survey Programme (2005), I investigate the relationship between cultural dimensions and individuals’ PSM. This article demonstrates that masculinity and indulgence are positively related to individuals’ PSM, whereas individualism is negatively associated with individuals’ PSM. However, power distance and uncertainty avoidance have a non-significant relationship with PSM. This article provides partial support for the thesis that national culture is associated with individuals’ PSM, but future research is required to explicate the relationship of cultural characteristics to individuals’ PSM. Points for practitioners Culture influences certain types of behavior both directly and indirectly. The article suggests that cultural tendencies such as masculinity, indulgence, and collectivism have a significant positive influence on individuals’ PSM. Organizational education and socialization enhancing these cultural values are likely to foster employees’ PSM.

ObjectivesThis study assesses the status of public service motivation and explains it's the positive association with public cooperation during the initial stage of the COVID‐19 crisis. Moreover, potential causes of Chinese citizens' public service motivation have been explored.MethodsA cross‐sectional survey of 30 provinces in China was conducted using an online questionnaire. The study was conducted in February 2020 during the initial stage of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Socio‐demographic factors, public service motivation, public satisfaction, public confidence, and public cooperation were assessed using questionnaires. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to identify clusters of interrelationships among public service motivation, public satisfaction, public confidence, and public cooperation among Chinese citizens.ResultsWe found that participants' public satisfaction with COVID‐19‐related public services had a positive association with public confidence (B = 0.456, p < 0.001) and public service motivation (B = 0.177, p < 0.001). Moreover, public confidence regarding anti‐COVID‐19 measures had a positive influence on public service motivation (B = 0.308, p < 0.001) while mediating the relationship between public satisfaction and public service motivation. Public service motivation were positively associated with public cooperation with anti‐COVID‐19 measures during the initial stage of the COVID‐19 pandemic.ConclusionA considerably high level of public service motivation among Chinese citizens appeared during the initial stage of the COVID‐19 pandemic, resulting in an increase in public cooperation. Moreover, the findings prove that a high degree of satisfaction with the government's initiatives regarding anti‐COVID‐19 measures encouraged greater personal public service motivation in respondents by increasing confidence in governmental responses and performance.

The study of civil service systems has traditionally emphasized issues of examinations, compensation, fairness and equity as central features. Questions about the market competitiveness and internal fairness of pay systems, the validity of selection devices, and the adequacy of career systems remain important concerns for the management of civil service systems. These issues are increasingly joined by issues outside the normal range of questions associated with pecuniary and instrumental rewards as scholars have given more attention to public service and prosocial motivations (Perry and Hondeghem, 2008; Perry and Wise, 1990).

Public service motivation (PSM) refers to an individual’s motivation to contribute to society. It relates to ideas about society, and about what public servants are and how they should behave, that have persisted for more than 2,500 years. Despite this heritage, PSM was only formally conceptualized in the 1990s. The concept of PSM has traditionally been linked to several beneficial outcomes, such as public performance and public servants’ satisfaction, but recently also to negative outcomes, such as burnout and rule-breaking. While PSM is an individual-level concept, the role of the social environment is crucial to understanding PSM. On the one hand, social institutions play an important role in creating individual-level PSM through socializing mechanisms. Institutions such as the family and workplace, and other structured value-based interaction patterns, correlate with the prevalence of individual PSM. On the other hand, to render outcomes, interaction with the environment—in terms of fit—is necessary, because PSM cannot exert influence outside a context where public values are prominent. As most research focuses on public servants in their work environment, this fit mostly entails a match of the individual public servant with the organization or the job. If this fit is lacking, little or no PSM occurs. Although PSM research was initially a theoretical and psychometric exercise, it is increasingly put to practical use.

This article contributes in three ways to our understanding of public service motivation (PSM) and its effects. In the first place, it applies an abridged version of Perry's measurement scale in the Dutch public sector. Although the results of the analysis show that PSM is a valid concept in this context, doubts arise as to whether one should use the same four dimensions as in the USA. Second, the analysis shows that — contrary to expectations — PSM is of equal importance in the segments of the Dutch public sector that were investigated. Third, the effect of PSM on three performance-related behavioural outcome variables (commitment, willingness to exert effort and perceived job performance) is analysed. In addition to PSM, a measurement of PSM fit is included. The hypothesis that PSM fit mediates the relationship between PSM and the outcome variables is rejected. In practice, it appears that both PSM and PSM fit have independent effects on these outcome variables. Points for practitioners Public organizations have to attract people who are motivated to work for the sector. In the Netherlands, the Ministry of the Interior is running a recruitment campaign to achieve this. This article shows the value of this strategy as workers with such a motivation (`public service motivation' or PSM) are more committed to the organization, more willing to exert effort and have a higher perception of their performance. Probably this will reflect in better public service delivery. However, the article also shows that recruiting PSM-oriented workers is not enough. It is also important that workers will be able to really `use' their PSM in their work. If not, they will become frustrated, which in the end will have adverse effects for the quality of public service delivery.

PurposeVillage health volunteers are community health volunteers in Thailand that have helped the government deliver public health services for many years, particularly during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Though labeled as “volunteers,” the village health volunteers are recruited, trained and supervised in a manner similar to how a government agency recruits, trains and supervises its street-level bureaucrats (SLBs). This study examines the two factors that affect how these street-level quasi-bureaucrats use their professional discretion: transformational leadership and public service motivation (PSM). Transformational leadership means a leadership style that develops, shares and sustains a vision to elevate SLBs to higher levels of performance, while PSM is defined as an SLB’s predisposition to make a difference by working in the public sector with a sense of calling. This study attempts to analyze the mediating role of psychological empowerment in the relationship between transformational leadership, PSM and professional discretion.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a three-wave survey-based quantitative method to avoid common method biases. This method provides evidence gathered from 105 subdistrict health promotion hospitals and 798 village health volunteers (VHVs) in five provinces in Thailand.FindingsPSM and transformational leadership influence the village health volunteers' use of professional discretion indirectly through the psychological empowerment mechanisms that make them feel positive toward their village health volunteer role and responsibility. The authors' findings suggest that the hospital directors' transformational leadership induces the village health volunteers' use of professional discretion by making them feel competent to do their work and feel fulfilled and valuable about their work. Similarly, the village health volunteers' PSM leads them to use professional discretion by making them feel fulfilled and valuable and by convincing them of the social and community impact of their work.Research limitations/implicationsWhile existing research focuses on VHVs' role in alleviating capacity constraints on the health care system, this study revealed an equally important role played by hospital directors. These directors' transformational leadership was instrumental in enhancing VHVs' psychological empowerment – particularly their perceptions of the meaning of their work and their competence – that ultimately enabled them to use professional discretion in their work. This study also highlighted the importance of VHVs' PSM, which leads to their use of professional discretion via the meaning and impact dimensions of psychological empowerment. Based on this study, PSM should also be incorporated into the community health volunteers' recruitment criteria. Also, public health agencies should consider including transformational leadership in the hospital directors' training programs and their promotion criteria.Practical implicationsAs VHVs' high-PSM level was found to enhance their professional discretion, the process of recruiting ordinary citizens to serve as community health volunteers should incorporate assessment of the candidates' PSM. Also, the Ministry of Public Health should design and assign tasks that citizen volunteers, particularly VHVs, consider meaningful and at which they feel competent.Social implicationsAside from technical training, directors of the subdistrict health promotion hospitals should regularly receive soft skill training (i.e. leadership training) and transformational leadership characteristics should be included in the government criteria for promotion.Originality/valueWhile past research has examined the impact of other leadership styles on psychological empowerment, this study took a further step by examining the mediating effects of psychological empowerment on the relationship between transformational leadership and professional discretion among VHVs. The authors analyzed the mechanism linking PSM to the VHVs' professional discretion. In addition, by examining the relative importance of different dimensions of psychological empowerment, this study offers a nuanced understanding of the psychological processes by which transformational leadership and PSM shape the SLBs' use of professional discretion in their work.

Purpose– Building on institutional theories, the purpose of this paper is to test the relationship of organizational centralization and public service motivation (PSM), and to explore country’s centralization effect on it.Design/methodology/approach– The quantitative analysis of 390 responses from 42 social care and labor market public service providers operating in two countries with opposite administrative regimes – decentralized Poland and centralized Belarus.Findings– The Polish sample confirms previous observations. Organizational centralization correlates with PSM, while PMS dimensions do not act in concert. In contrast to others, self-sacrifice is positively associated with increased centralization. A country’s context has a strong mediating effect. The Belarusian sample revealed no relationship between organizational centralization and PSM. Because the main difference with Poland lies in the politico-administrative organization of the public sector, the findings suggest further examination of the county’s centralization effects. Democracy is not an imperative for higher PSM. Belarusian employees scored higher than the Polish on attraction to public service. Centralization of state administration does not necessarily indicate higher centralization in separate executive units. Polish organizations scored similar or higher on the questions of organizational centralization.Research limitations/implications– Context factors correlate differently with separate PSM dimensions, therefore, researchers should always look at PSM as a complex concept. Robust assertions about country’s centralization effect will require further tests on a larger sample of countries with different administrative regimes.Practical implications– Human resource (HR) managers in decentralized Poland could modify employees’ PSM behavior by altering the centralization level of an organization. In highly centralized Belarus, employees’ PSM is less responsive to centralization changes, thus, HR managers should recruit individuals with the initially high PSM.Originality/value– First PSM study with the primary data collected in a non-democratic country; first study to simultaneously address centralization on organizational and country levels.

PurposeThe need to improve the efficiency and quality of public services has increased the interest in innovation. This study seeks to understand the relationship between the Public Service Motivation (PSM) index and the profile of strategic-level public servants who are considered innovative.Design/methodolog/approachQuestionnaires were applied to the group of government managers who registered their projects in an innovation competition. Data were analyzed using t-test, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA).FindingsThis paper concluded that the PSM level of these innovative public servants is significantly greater than public servants overall. In terms of the profile of these innovative government managers, it was found that the majority were female, with a high level of education and a background in Information Technology.Practical implicationsThe discovery that innovative government managers have a significantly higher PSM (p &lt; 0.05) than public servants overall may be relevant, because it confirms a statistical tendency that it would be advantageous for policy-makers to invest in actions that increase public servant PSM since these servants with high PSM are more innovative.Originality/valueThis article has sought to fill a gap in studies that associate the level of PSM with the innovation practices in the public sector, as well as verify the profile of public servants with high levels of motivation in public service (PSM).

Recent evidence shows public service motivation (PSM) may be unrelated to one’s consideration of a public service career. In places where civil service examinations prevail, even adverse selection (selecting low-PSM individuals) can occur. This leaves public sector managers with tough questions: “Can we improve new recruits’ PSM? Does training matter?” The present study attempts to answer these questions by using a case of onboard training in Taiwan. We hypothesize that PSM, along with public service–related knowledge and a positive attitude toward public service work, improves after training, and that the improvement hinges on trainees’ satisfaction with training and perceived usefulness of training. Analytical results indicate that knowledge and attitudes are more “trainable” than PSM. Meanwhile, training satisfaction is associated with the growth of public service–related knowledge, while perceived training usefulness relates to a positive attitude toward public service work and PSM. Overall, these findings advance our understanding of the effectiveness of public service training, its determinants, and the implications for public employees’ public service orientations.

Does feeling a motivational drive to contribute to society matter for the performance of public employees? This dissertation shows it does: employees that are highly public service motivated perform better in their job, are more likely to help their colleagues and work units with highly public service motivated employees receive higher performance ratings from their supervisors. However, this finding may be context-bound. For instance, what happens when public service motivated employees do not feel they have opportunities to contribute to society? It may be that they get frustrated because they cannot do what they want to do. Therefore the publicness of the context matters for whether public service motivation is a potential or forms a risk for employee, organizational and societal outcomes. Through 50 interviews with employees from schools, police, hospitals, municipalities and prisons, collected survey data from 1031 employees of the same organizations, 1700 healthcare employees and their 190 supervisors, and representative secondary data from approximately 25.000 public servants, the potential and pitfalls of public service motivation were analyzed. Next to regression analyses, structural equation modeling with mediation and moderation were used to not only analyze the relationship between PSM and performance, but also the role of contextual factors such as sector, societal impact potential, and person-environment fit. The results show that a fit between the motivation to contribute to society and whether the context provides opportunities to have a societal impact in the job is crucial. In most situations employees with high public service motivation perform better, but if they do not perceive they have a societal impact potential their public service motivation does not or even negatively influence their performance. Moreover, if there is no fit between the public service motivation and the opportunities to contribute the employee is at higher risk of burnout – when there are too many opportunities in services aimed at changing citizens, and when there are too little opportunities in services aimed at regulating and processing. Finally, the results show that public service motivation mostly influences performance outcomes related to equity, accountability and safety. These findings are important seen in the context of recent reforms in healthcare and the police. In such reforms the structure of the organization is the main focus, not the fit between employee motives and the incentives, structure and opportunities. Changes in the structure and way of working may alter the fit, which influences performance. It is essential to account for the motivation to contribute to society in such reforms. Moreover, due to their public service motivation these employees may sacrifice themselves to maintain a high quality of services for citizens. This may burn them out in the long run, which can negatively affect performance. Finally, several public organizations such as housing corporations have been scrutinized due to their emphasis on extrinsic rewards and disregard for the public interest. To enhance employee concern for society the organization can use HR-practices regarding selecting and socializing employees that emphasize public service motives.

Based on Perry’s Public Service Motivation Theory, this paper aims at (1) measuring public service motivation of village cadres and the effectiveness of rural living environment governance; (2) examining the public service motivation of village cadres as a factor potentially influencing the effectiveness of rural living environment governance. Through the survey of village heads, the village party secretaries and villagers in 118 villages in south-central China, an empirical study on the impact of village cadres’ public service motivation and effectiveness of rural living environment governance is conducted. Empirical results indicate that village cadres’ public service motivation (four dimensions) positively influences the effectiveness of rural living environment governance (three aspects). Therefore, we could consider more about perspective of village cadres’ public service motivation for improving the effectiveness of rural living environment governance.