Public sector motivational practices and their effect on job satisfaction: country differences

Susana De Juana-Espinosa,Anna Rakowska

doi:10.1108/ejmbe-02-2018-0027

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of job satisfaction practices for public sector employees through a cross-national approach.Design/methodology/approachA multi-group analysis was carried out using SmartPLS3 among non-teaching employees of public universities in Poland and Spain.FindingsThe results show a positive relationship between motivational factors and job satisfaction; however, there is no evidence that the variable “country” introduced significant differences.Originality/valueThe research findings contribute to a better understanding of job satisfaction for public employees and provide empirical evidence on the relationship between job satisfaction and public culture.

Highlights

To meet the demands of today’s society, the strategic goals of public sector organisations (PSOs) have progressed from merely looking for efficient and effective service provision to truly providing public service, based on the theoretical framework of public service dominant logic theory (PSDL) (Osborne, 2010; Osborne et al, 2012)
PSOs must encourage those human resource management (HRM) practices that positively affect the motivation and satisfaction of their human capital, which in turn will lead to better performance (Hung, 2012; Vandenabeele, 2009)
The following questions arise: How should public managers motivate their internal customers? Does the use of specific human resource practices have a different effect on the job satisfaction of public sector employees under a cross-national perspective? Are these practices universal, implying that public sector culture is stronger than country culture and public managers can learn from other similar institutions in other countries? This study addresses these questions using a survey among the non-teaching staff of public universities in Poland and Spain

Summary

Introduction

To meet the demands of today’s society, the strategic goals of public sector organisations (PSOs) have progressed from merely looking for efficient and effective service provision to truly providing public service, based on the theoretical framework of public service dominant logic theory (PSDL) (Osborne, 2010; Osborne et al, 2012). Among the innovations developed by PSDL, one is the acknowledgement of the role of public employees as internal customers (Azêdo and Alves, 2013; Hiedemann et al, 2016). Job satisfaction is considered as “a positive (or negative) evaluative judgment one makes about one’s job or job situation” Considering public employees as internal customers implies tailoring their motivation and satisfaction policies to their specific circumstances

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Results