Bram Steijn

Person-Environment Fit and Public Service Motivation

This article incorporates insights from Person-Environment Fit theories to the discussion about the effect of Public Service Motivation (PSM) on vocational outcome variables. Analysis of a large Dutch dataset shows that workers with a PSM fit are more satisfied and less inclined to leave their job and the organization they work for than workers without such a fit. This is in accordance with the main hypothesis. Other results underline the importance of the PSM concept as they show that public sector workers have a higher level of PSM than private sector workers. Moreover, private sector workers with high levels of PSM are inclined to look for a job in the public sector, which is in accordance with a main propositions of the PSM framework. The article finishes with a discussion on theoretical and methodological issues raised by the analysis and puts forward some suggestions for further research.

Trust in Governance Networks: Its Impacts on Outcomes

Governance networks are characterized by complex interaction and decision making, and much uncertainty. Surprisingly, there is very little research on the impact of trust in achieving results in governance networks. This article asks two questions: (a) Does trust influence the outcomes of environmental projects? and (b) Does active network management improve the level of trust in networks? The study is based on a Web-based survey of respondents involved in environmental projects. The results indicate that trust does matter for perceived outcomes and that network management strategies enhance the level of trust.

Human Resource Management and Job Satisfaction in the Dutch Public Sector

Academic research on public administration devotes relatively little attention to issues concerning human resource management (HRM) and job satisfaction. Many private sector studies suggest that investing in HRM has positive effects on worker morale. Therefore, in this study, variables measuring HRM practices were combined with an analysis of determinants of job satisfaction in the Dutch public sector. Three hypotheses were tested and confirmed. They revealed that (a) individual characteristics have a negligible effect on job satisfaction, (b) HRM practices have a positive effect, but (c) this latter effect is largely indirect and mediated by job and organizational characteristics.

Policy Alienation of Public Professionals: Application in a New Public Management Context

Abstract Today, many public professionals feel estranged from the policy programmes they implement; that is, they experience ‘policy alienation’. This is of concern as, for satisfactory implementation, some identification with the policy is required. We conceptualize policy alienation based on the sociological concept of work alienation, and show how this can be used in policy implementation research. Studying a Dutch case of professionals implementing a new work disability decree, we observe how NPM practices increase policy alienation because of a perceived dysfunctional focus on efficiency and results. A large number of policy changes and stricter implementation rules further increased policy alienation.

Well begun, half done? Long-term effects of labour market entry in the Netherlands, 1950–2000

This article looks at the career effects of different entries into the Dutch labour market: as unemployed, non-standard or permanent worker. Using the bridge versus trap analogy, it is investigated whether or not a ‘bad’ career start will have long-term negative consequences.To do this, event history analysis is used.The results show that non-standard work has no negative consequences with respect to later career unemployment or upward and downward mobility. However, certain negative effects are associated with unemployment at the career start. Moreover, this effect is larger when the duration of the period of unemployment is longer. Several other hypotheses - about macro-economic effects and about the effects for groups with a weak labour market position - are refuted. Overall, the data show that early career unemployment can work as a trap, but that early career non-standard work can work as a stepping stone towards a better labour market position.

Organizational commitment among Dutch public sector employees

Organizational commitment has become a much researched subject over the past three decades. This article focuses on the relatively understudied public sector. On the basis of a large public-sector-wide survey, organizational commitment and its antecedents are assessed, including the contribution made by HRM practices. The findings are, to a large extent, in agreement with earlier studies in that they indicate the relatively major importance of job and organizational characteristics and the relatively minor importance of personal characteristics for affective commitment. Further, there is evidence of an effect of employees’ perception of HRM practices on organizational commitment, which is relevant for orienting management action. However, the findings with respect to normative commitment differ from previous studies. It is suggested that further research should be done that includes both organizational commitment and public service motivation as the latter could have an effect on normative commitment of public sector employees.

Social position, ideology, and distributive justice

This paper addresses two important questions regarding distributive justice. First we ask whether people use standards or principles of distributive justice regarding the allocation of income. The study confirms our expectation that there are at least two principles, viz., the merit and the need principle. Our data show that there is no generally held consensus about the applicability of these two principles. Second, we looked for explanations to explain variations in adherence to these principles. The literature suggests five different theses: 1. self-interest; 2. ideology; 3. enlightenment; 4. historical shift; and 5. gender. Results provide qualified support for the Theses 1, 2 and 4. Class, ideology, and age affect the preferences for the principles of justice. Further elaboration suggests the data point to a specific version of the self-interest thesis, viz., the underdog thesis. Theses 3 and 5 are not confirmed. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Does Democratic Anchorage Matter? An Inquiry Into the Relation Between Democratic Anchorage and Outcome of Dutch Environmental Projects

Does democracy matter? This is an intriguing question. Not only as a normative question, democracy is a value in itself that can be cherished for that reason alone but also as a question of its impact on the outcomes of governance processes. In this article, the authors look at the question of to what degree citizens and politicians are involved in governance processes around environmental projects and what the effect is of these forms of democratic embedding on the outcomes of those projects. The research is based on a survey in 2006 that resulted in 337 respondents involved in spatial projects in the Netherlands. The analysis shows that, according to respondents, both stakeholders and political parties are well involved in the process (stakeholders slightly more than political actors). The authors also find that both democratic anchorage forms are related to perceived outcomes, but only stakeholder involvement has a strong significant effect on outcomes.

'Work systems, Quality of Working Life and Attitudes of Workers. An Empirical Study towards the effects of Team and non-Teamwork'

textabstractIn this article four different work systems are distinguished: the traditional Tayloristic system, ???lean??? teamwork, ???sociotechnical??? teamwork, and the professional work system. Using a survey design the association with several employee outcome variables is analysed. The results show that: 1) work system is an important factor for explaining differences in the quality of working life and attitudes of workers; 2) the Tayloristic work system clearly has detrimental effects on the well-being of workers. 3) in a survey design, comparing just teamworkers and non-teamworkers is not enough due to the heterogeneity of both categories.

Joining the Dutch Civil Service

Abstract This article focuses on the work motivation of employees who joined the Dutch civil service between 2000 and 2006. It relates changes in five distinct motives to the changing economic context and the recruitment campaign run by the Dutch civil service. Results show that both extrinsic and public service motivations of employees were greater when unemployment was higher. Surprisingly, the intensity of the recruitment campaign correlated with both intrinsic and extrinsic motives, and the campaign appears to have attracted workers with a higher level of public service motivation and with a greater attraction to the public sector.