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1 – 10 of over 15000Momna Yousaf, Shiza Zafar and Abida Abi Ellahi
– The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of public service motivation (PSM) on red tape and resigned satisfaction in Pakistani public administration.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of public service motivation (PSM) on red tape and resigned satisfaction in Pakistani public administration.
Design/methodology/approach
Employees working in federal organizations were the target population of this study. As part of field survey, 350 questionnaires were distributed to collect data from respondents.
Findings
The research findings indicate that red tape is a strong predictor of resigned satisfaction and is positively related to it. Among the dimensions of public-service motivation “attraction to policy making” and “commitment to civic duty” dimensions were found to have no relation with red tape and resigned satisfaction. Whereas, “compassion” and “self-sacrifice” dimensions of PSM had a positive moderating effect on the relationship between red tape and resigned satisfaction. It was concluded that under perception of red tape, PSM can have possible negative effect on work satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
By highlighting the effect of red tape on satisfaction it can help public sector organizations in trying to crowd out the negative factors of employees’ work through minimizing the rules and regulations which are worth nothing except for extra work and stress for employees. The results can also be used to assess the differences in level of red tape perceived in developed and developing countries.
Originality/value
This study provides a contribution to the literature, as it is study is among the first few studies in Pakistan. The main theoretical contribution of this study is that it raises an important question about the extent to which the theory and research developed in one country can contribute to the application of PSM in other counties especially developed vs developing countries.
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Bangcheng Liu, Ningyu Tang and Xiaomei Zhu
The purpose of this research is to investigate how generalisable the public service motivation (PSM) observed in Western society is to China and to examine the effects of public…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate how generalisable the public service motivation (PSM) observed in Western society is to China and to examine the effects of public service motivation on job satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis techniques are applied to survey data of 191 public servants in China to investigate the generalisability of Western PSM. Using hierarchical regression analysis, the paper examines the effects of the dimensions of PSM on job satisfaction.
Findings
The results show that the public service motivation observed in the West exists in China, but the generalisability of the construct is limited. Three of the four dimensions of public service motivation (attraction to public policy making, commitment to the public interest, and self‐sacrifice) exist in China, but the fourth dimension (compassion) is unconfirmed.
Originality/value
The paper is the first to examine the generalisability and instrumentality of PSM as observed in Western society to China. The results indicate that the public service motivation observed in the West also exists in China, but that the generalisability is limited. Public service motivation emerges from the results as a positively significant predictor of job satisfaction in the public sector of China. It enhances the applicability and meaningfulness of the concept of public service motivation across political and cultural environments.
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The purpose of this article is to examine various antecedents to establish their effect on public service motivation (PSM) and its four dimensions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to examine various antecedents to establish their effect on public service motivation (PSM) and its four dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach
Five categories of antecedents were examined these included: personal attributes, role states, job characteristics, employee‐leader relations, and employee perception of the organisation. Results were obtained through: structural equation modelling for the examination of multiple relationships between PSM and its dimensions, and the antecedents; and ANOVA for testing the individual hypotheses.
Findings
This study provides some evidence to show that the PSM of public employees is mainly the result of the organisational environment surrounding them. The motivational context variables particularly those related to the organisational setting are the most dominant predictors of the PSM dimensions.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical results presented in this study should be viewed as preliminary that necessitate further extensive empirical research.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that public sector management has the task of creating a proper and appropriate climate for its employees. Furthermore, PSM has generated particular interest because it is perceived or assumed to have a positive impact on the job behaviour of individuals in particular, job satisfaction and fulfilment, and their respective level of performance. It is therefore important that public sector organisations find ways of encouraging PSM amongst its employees.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature regarding PSM by examining the relationship between dominant antecedents and the dimensions of PSM, and presents the findings as a model to show the dynamics in these relationships.
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Nicolai Petrovsky and Adrian Ritz
A growing body of literature points to the importance of public service motivation (PSM) for the performance of public organizations. The purpose of this paper is to assess the…
Abstract
Purpose
A growing body of literature points to the importance of public service motivation (PSM) for the performance of public organizations. The purpose of this paper is to assess the method predominantly used for studying this linkage by comparing the findings it yields without and with a correction suggested by Brewer (2006), which removes the common-method bias arising from employee-specific response tendencies.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the authors conduct a systematic review of published empirical research on the effects of PSM on performance and show that all studies found have been conducted at the individual level. Performance indicators in all but three studies were obtained by surveying the same employees who were also asked about their PSM. Second, the authors conduct an empirical analysis. Using survey data from 240 organizational units within the Swiss federal government, the paper compares results from an individual-level analysis (comparable to existing research) to two analyses where the data are aggregated to the organizational level, one without and one with the correction for common-method bias suggested by Brewer (2006).
Findings
Looking at the Attraction to Policy-Making dimension of PSM, there is an interesting contrast: While this variable is positively correlated with performance in both the individual-level analysis and the aggregated data analysis without the correction for common-method bias, it is not statistically associated with performance in the aggregated data analysis with the correction.
Originality/value
The analysis is the first to assess the robustness of the performance-PSM linkage to a correction for common-method bias. The findings place the validity of at least one part of the individual-level linkage between PSM and performance into question.
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Chunkui Zhu and Chen Wu
This paper aims to examine different hypotheses concerning the effects of public service motivation (PSM) and other attitudinal or institutional dimensions on organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine different hypotheses concerning the effects of public service motivation (PSM) and other attitudinal or institutional dimensions on organizational performance (OP). Specifically, based on the experience of Chinese provincial governments, this study provides new evidence about how PSM may affect OP.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected data from a survey of different provincial government departments in Sichuan Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province and Chongqing Municipality in 2011. Using data from 761 respondents, Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to explore the relationships between related factors.
Findings
PSM, job satisfaction, affective commitment and job involvement have statistically significant effects on OP, and these results are consistent with the findings of previous researches that PSM positively affected OP at a significant level. The results suggest that, if civil servants have a strong PSM, the performance of their organizations will be high.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should look for additional factors that affect OP, comparing employees’ perceptions of an organization’s performance with objective data to determine whether, and to what degree, subjective measures of performance are valid measures of OP in the public sector.
Practical implications
In the process of improving government performance, it is significant to give attention to the government employees’ mentality. The government training and promotion system should encourage civil servants to care about the public interest. A more flattened organization should be considered as part of the next steps in government reform, and more opportunities should be provided to involve more government employees in policy making.
Originality/value
This study helps to clarify the effects of individual factors of PSM on OP in China in a tightly controlled bureaucratic environment, where related data are hardly accessible.
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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…
Abstract
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.
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Muhammad Asim Rafique, Yumei Hou, Muhammad Adnan Zahid Chudhery, Nida Gull and Syed Jameel Ahmed
Innovations are imperative for organizational growth and sustainability. This study focuses on the employees' innovative behavior, a source of organizational innovations, which…
Abstract
Purpose
Innovations are imperative for organizational growth and sustainability. This study focuses on the employees' innovative behavior, a source of organizational innovations, which has received substantial attention from the researchers. Based on the psychological empowerment theory, the study exposes the effect of the various dimensions of public service motivation (PSM) on employees' innovative behavior (IB) in public sector institutions especially in the context of developing countries such as Pakistan. Moreover, the study also investigates the mediating role of psychological empowerment (PSE) between the dimensions of PSM and IB.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used the cross-sectional research design. By using random sampling, the adapted survey questionnaires were used to collect data from 346 faculty members of public sector universities located in provincial capitals of Pakistan. A partial least square–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) tool was used to assess the proposed hypotheses through SMART-PLS software.
Findings
Results revealed that attraction to policymaking (APM), compassion (COM), self-sacrifice (SS) have a significant impact on employees' PSE and their innovative behavior, while the relationship of commitment to the public interest (CPI) with PSE and IB was found insignificant. Moreover, PSE partially mediated the relationship between PSM dimensions and employees' IB.
Originality/value
There was a scarcity of research on IB especially in public sector institutions such as academia. This study theoretically contributed to the literature by providing a refined picture in assessing the proposed relationship of the constructs. This is also one of the original studies that examine the relationship between the dimensions of PSM and IB.
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Dermot McCarthy, Ping Wei, Fabian Homberg and Vurain Tabvuma
The purpose of this paper is to statistically test if the public service motivation (PSM) measure operates in the same way across the public and private sectors of a municipal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to statistically test if the public service motivation (PSM) measure operates in the same way across the public and private sectors of a municipal district in China. It also contrasts the relationship between PSM and workplace outcomes across sectors and employee age groups.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data from independent samples of public (n=220) and private (n=230) sector employees in the Changsha Municipal District of China is used. The analysis tests for invariance across groups, before comparing mean values and regression weights.
Findings
Only in respect of one PSM dimension do findings show a significant higher mean in the public sector. No significant difference is found on the impact of PSM on employee performance across sectors, while it is in the private sector that PSM has the greater impact on intention to leave. Findings also show no marked impact of age upon outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides an initial set of results and further research will need to be undertaken to verify them. The limited sample size and narrow geographical focus, although in line with similar studies on China, means the ability to draw generalisations is limited. The reliance on self-reported measures means issues with common method bias cannot be ignored. Measures were taken during data collection to minimise issues of bias and a set of post-hoc test results are provided.
Practical implications
The recruitment of employees with higher levels of PSM can be expected to play a role in achieving better outcomes, regardless of sector and age profile.
Originality/value
The PSM measure has been applied by researchers across various economic sectors. This paper is one of the first to statistically test if the concept and its measure operates in the same way across sectors. The paper contributes to the on-going debate on PSM in the context of China and its relationship with a number of key output variables. Finally, the paper contributes to the emerging debate on changing workforce demographics and their role in shaping outcomes.
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Madinah F. Hamidullah, Gregg G. Van Ryzin and Huafang Li
The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which public service motivation (PSM) can be explained by the big five personality factors.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which public service motivation (PSM) can be explained by the big five personality factors.
Design/methodology/approach
Original data are gathered from two online surveys of public service professionals from across the USA. The two surveys employ the same measures of personality traits but different measures of PSM. This was done to test the generalizability of the findings across different operationalization of PSM.
Findings
The big five personality factors explain a large share of the variance in PSM, above and beyond basic demographic factors (sex, age and race). Agreeableness has the most consistent association with PSM. Extroversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience also display positive associations with at least some measures and dimensions of PSM.
Research limitations/implications
The two surveys involved somewhat small, non-probability samples of public service professionals. Additional research is needed to confirm the generalizability of these findings.
Originality/value
This study contributes to both the theoretical and empirical understanding of the origins of PSM.
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Rick Vogel, Fabian Homberg and Alena Gericke
The purpose of this paper is to examine abusive supervision and public service motivation (PSM) as antecedents of deviant workplace behaviours.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine abusive supervision and public service motivation (PSM) as antecedents of deviant workplace behaviours.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted in a cross-sectional research design with survey data from 150 employees in the public, private, and non-profit sector in Germany and the USA.
Findings
Abusive supervision is positively associated with employee deviance, whereas PSM is negatively related to deviant behaviours. The employment sector moderates the negative relationship between PSM and employee deviance such that this relationship is stronger in the public and non-profit sector.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations arise from the convenience sampling approach and the cross-sectional nature of the data set.
Practical implications
Human resource managers should consider behavioural integrity in the attraction, selection, and training of both supervisors and subordinates. Private organisations can address the needs of strongly public service motivated employees by integrating associated goals and values into organisational missions and policies.
Originality/value
This is the first study to introduce PSM into research on employee deviance. It shows that a pro-social motivation can drive anti-social behaviours when employees with high levels of PSM are members of profit-seeking organisations.
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