Bradley E. Wright

Public Service Motivation and the Assumption of Person—Organization Fit Testing the Mediating Effect of Value Congruence

This study contributes to our understanding of public service motivation by clarifying the mechanisms through which public service motivation influences employee attitudes previously linked to organizational performance. In particular, the authors find that the relationship between employee public service motivation and job satisfaction is mediated by the extent to which the employee perceives that his or her values are congruent with those of the public sector organization he or she works for. This study suggests that caution should be exercised when making claims regarding the effects of public service motivation and that greater emphasis should be placed on ways public sector organizations can foster employee—organization value congruence.

Job Satisfaction In The Public Sector: The Role of the Work Environment

This study examines the influence of the work environment on public employee feelings of job satisfaction, linking characteristics of the work context perceived to be more prevalent in public organizations with specific job characteristics that serve as important antecedents of job satisfaction. In particular, this study analyzes the effects of three components of the work context—organizational goal conflict, organizational goal specificity, and procedural constraints—and four job characteristics—job specificity, routineness, feedback, and human resource development—faced by public employees. Building on previous research, a causal model of job satisfaction was tested in a covariance analysis (LISREL) using data from a survey of state government employees. The model explained two thirds of the variation in employee job satisfaction and suggests that the work context may not only be important in distinguishing between public and private sector employment but also may be at the root of any sector differences in job satisfaction.

Public Service Motivation and Interpersonal Citizenship Behavior in Public Organizations: Testing a Preliminary Model

ABSTRACT A good deal of research has demonstrated how public service motivation (PSM) facilitates desirable organizational attitudes and behaviors such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and work effort. Other research has demonstrated that PSM predicts higher levels of social capital and altruistic behavior in society. Between these two strands of PSM research, there is a gap in knowledge about whether PSM matters to citizenship behavior internal to the organization. This article tests the direct and indirect relationship between individual levels of PSM and interpersonal citizenship behavior using a structural equation model. We also account for the effect of organizational environment by incorporating a measure of co-worker support. We find that PSM has a direct and positive effect on interpersonal citizenship behavior in public organizations, even when accounting for the significant role of co-worker support.

Participation’s Influence on Job Satisfaction The Importance of Job Characteristics

A structural equationmodel was proposed to analyze the impact of employee participation and job characteristics on job satisfaction. The current study found that participative decision making has a significant positive effect on performance feedback, task significance, and career development support. Performance feedback was positively related to job specificity and career development support. Task significance and career development support were, in turn, positively related to job satisfaction. These findings suggest that participation has an important, albeit indirect, effect on employee job satisfaction through its influence on job characteristics. The implications of these findings for public management are discussed.

Understanding Affective Organizational Commitment: The Importance of Institutional Context

This study proposes and tests a model of affective organizational commitment that seeks to capture aspects of the unique institutional context of public organizations. An analysis of survey data from seven public sector organizations suggests external control increases organizational goal ambiguity and two types of bureaucratic red tape, which, in turn, negatively affects affective commitment. Although personnel red tape has a direct adverse impact on affective commitment, procurement red tape is not found to have a significant effect. Organizational goal ambiguity’s influence on affective organizational commitment, however, is mediated through its effect on centralization and role ambiguity. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of these relationships and possible explanations for instances when findings are not consistent with expectations.

Public Service Motivation: A Test of the Job Attraction–Selection–Attrition Model

ABSTRACT Public service motivation (PSM) research suggests that PSM influences employee sector choice, yet relatively little research examines how time moderates this relationship. In this research we examine public service motivation among private and public sector lawyers. Using survey data that measure sector of employment at multiple time periods, we investigate the stability of the relationship between individual reward orientations and sector employment choice over time. Our findings suggest that while PSM may not clearly predict the employment sector of a respondents first job, it does increase the likelihood that a respondents subsequent job is in the public sector.

Performance Regimes Amidst Governance Complexity

Much of the appeal of performance measurement is explained by its image as a simple and value-neutral way to monitor and improve government. But contemporary governance is characterized by complexity. Few public officials have the luxury of directly providing relatively simple services, the context in which performance regimes work best. Instead, they must work in the context of a disarticulated state, with policy problems that cross national boundaries and demand a multi-actor response. At the same time, traditional democratic values must be honored. This article examines the tensions between performance regimes and the complexity of modern governance, identifying implications and questions for research and practice.

Public Organizations and Mission Valence When Does Mission Matter

Given the service- and community-oriented nature of organizational goals in the public sector, it is not surprising that public management scholars have highlighted the potential of the missions to be an asset of public organizations. To date, however, little empirical research has investigated ways in which these benefits can be cultivated. The present study of mission valence—based on a sample from a single organization—has formative and developmental value. The authors find that organizational goal clarity, public service motivation, and work impact can increase an organization’s mission valence. In addition, the findings validate the importance of mission valence by illustrating its effect on two important human resource outcomes, job satisfaction and absenteeism.

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH MEASUREMENT IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION An Assessment of Journal Publications

This study contributes to the ongoing evaluation of quantitative research methods in the field of public administration by examining the data collection and measurement practices in published research. A review of the data collection and measurement methods reported in six public administration journals over a 3-year period raises important concerns about the current state of measurement practice in public administration. Specifically, researchers often failed to report information that would allow their readers to appropriately judge the accuracy of reported research findings, interpret these findings within the context of other research, and learn from the research methods used.

IT Employee Work Exhaustion Toward an Integrated Model of Antecedents and Consequences

Focusing on information technology (IT) professionals in state governments, this study found that organizational context (resources, participation, and feedback), job-related stressors (workload and role ambiguity), and career advancement opportunities affect work exhaustion experienced by state government IT employees. Work exhaustion, in turn, had a direct effect on IT employee turnover intentions and an indirect effect through its influence on job satisfaction. As a result, the study extends our understanding of IT employee exhaustion (a) by developing and testing a conceptual framework of work exhaustion that investigates the causal order of, and interrelationships between, the organizational context variables and job-related stressors previously recognized as antecedents of work exhaustion and (b) because of the potential contribution of career advancement opportunities in such a model.