Performance Management Practices and Motivation in Developing Countries: A Further Validation of the Public Service Motivation Construct in Ghana

Abstract

This study aims to test if the local government's performance management practices are predicted by their employee's public service motivation levels. Local government's performance management practices are effective when their employees are committed and motivated. Employees whose motivations are unique to public institutions will be committed to both their key performance indicators and the general strategic goals of the local government's core mission. The lack of such motivations may be detrimental to the practice of management at the local level. The study used a cross-sectional survey of 850 local government employees in the Greater Accra of Ghana. The method of analysis of the data was multiple regression techniques. The findings suggest that employees' scores on attraction to policymaking, civic duty, and commitment to the public interest are strongly positively associated with performance management practices. The regression analysis demonstrated that public service motivation subscales combined to predict the variance in the dependent variable. Several performance management studies examine federal government utilization and rational decision-making processes. However, this study is one of the few to examine performance management practices of local governments and public service motivation theory by showing that employees' public service motivation levels can significantly predict the changes in performance management practices.