Motivational bases of commitment to organizational change in the Chinese public sector

Abstract

Does public sector employees’ public service motivation (PSM) affect their psychological reactions to organizational change? We examined the effects of PSM on public sector employees’ commitment to a specific organizational change. Participants were 231 public sector employees from a city in eastern China, who completed surveys assessing commitment to change and PSM. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between PSM and employees’ commitment to organizational change. That is, individuals with high (vs. low) PSM were more likely to have high levels of continuance and normative commitment, whereas PSM was not significantly correlated with affective commitment to organizational change. Practical implications are discussed of a successful planned change in the public sector, including staffing, communication, and discipline during the change process.