Carina Schott

Investigating and explaining organizational antecedents of PSM

Purpose - – First, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the public service motivation (PSM) literature by increasing the limited knowledge of organizational antecedents of PSM. Second, by combining PSM with insights from self-determination theory (SDT), the paper aims to elucidate the link through which high-performance work systems (HPWS) relate to PSM. Design/methodology/approach - – Using a survey, the authors investigated nurses’ perceptions of HPWS, PSM, and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs in four different German hospitals. Findings - – The results of this study provide empirical evidence that PSM is influenced by several HR practices and the three basic psychological needs autonomy, relatedness, and competence, which in turn are influenced by certain HR practices as well. Basic psychological needs do not fully mediate the relationship between HPWS and PSM. Research limitations/implications - – Four dimensions of HPWS are measured by a single item and the results are based on a German sample. They therefore might not apply to other countries. Future research will benefit from using a more corroborated measurement instrument of HPWS in different countries. Practical implications - – This study offers useful insights for HR managers in the nursing sector on the question how PSM can be fostered effectively. Originality/value - – This study adds to the limited knowledge of organizational antecedents of PSM by including ideas from HRM into the study of PSM. Second, by combining PSM with insights from psychology (SDT), this study sheds light on the mediating mechanisms which help to explain how HPWS relate to PSM; a conceptual model explaining the HPWS-PSM relationship is developed and tested.

Confused Professionals?: Capacities to cope with pressures on professional work

Abstract Public professionalism is increasingly subject to organizational and societal pressures, which has led to ambiguity concerning its nature. Professionals face conflicting situations due to potential clashes between multifaceted professional, organizational, and societal factors. This raises questions about how these factors affect professional work, how professionals experience conflicts and how they cope. We investigate such conflicts, confusion, and coping strategies in a group of veterinary inspectors. Using semi-structured interviews, we analyse their work and link the resulting insights to different perspectives on professionalism. We show that workers experience conflicts as less stressful when they accept organizational factors, or when they are able to enact a more integrated set of professional/organizational work principles. We call this organizing professionalism. We trace factors that hinder and favour such organizing coping strategies.

What does it mean and imply to be public service motivated

In public service motivation (PSM) literature, PSM is assumed to have a positive effect on performance. Even though frequently mentioned, this assumption has proved difficult to verify empirically. In this article, we argue that individual interpretations of what it means to serve the public interest need to be considered to get a grip on the concept of PSM and its behavioral consequences. As interpretations of “the public interest” vary depending on the roles people occupy in society, so too does the meaning of PSM. A theoretical argument is developed that helps to clarify the meaning of PSM and its relationship with performance by introducing insights derived from identity theory. This is illustrated empirically by a study of veterinarian inspectors. The theoretical, empirical, and practical relevance of this new approach to PSM is pointed out.

What Motivates Different Groups of Public Employees Working for Dutch Municipalities? Combining Autonomous and Controlled Types of Motivation

To this day, the question what motivates public sector employees is central in public administration research. This exploratory study aims to delve into this question, arguing that different types of motives coexist and that different groups of individuals might be motivated by different motivational profiles. We use cluster analysis among public servants (N = 475) working at two municipalities in the Netherlands to explore these notions. Our findings show that different clusters of employees with different motivation profiles are indeed present in the data. In addition, they provide some indications about who the individuals in the clusters are in terms of demographic characteristics. These findings help, among other things, to explain the mixed findings of previous studies investigating sectional differences between public and private employees’ work motivation, and to identify specific human research activities tailored at individuals’ reward preferences.

Inspections Services and Inter-Rater Reliability: Differentiating Professional Role Identities of Dutch Veterinary Inspectors

Inter-rater reliability is a prominent topic within inspection services. We address inter-rater reliability as a problem beyond the technical concern for improving regulatory instruments. We combine theories on professionalism and identity theory to deal with an issue overlooked in much of the literature on regulation and inter-rater reliability: the potentially diverging ways inspectors perceive their professional role. Studying veterinary inspectors in the Dutch food safety services, our focus is on how we can empirically differentiate between different role identities and how these identities diverge from ideal-typical expectations the organization holds of its inspectors.

The combined impact of professional role identity and public service motivation on decision-making in dilemma situations

Working in the public sector implies the need to make decisions in the face of dilemmas. As consistent decision-making is highly desirable for organizational performance, the question arises: what do public service professionals base their decisions on? This study aims to increase our understanding of whether public service motivation and professional role identity are useful concepts by which to predict what decisions public service professionals will make in complex situations. Using survey data, this research investigates the impact of these two concepts on the decision-making of veterinary inspectors working at the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority. The results support the hypothesis that decision-making is influenced by the way in which veterinary inspectors interpret their professional role. Public service motivation, in contrast, seems to have neither a direct nor a moderating effect on decision-making in the context of dilemma situations. Points for practitioners Two important conclusions of this study are of interest for managers working with professionals. Our findings should urge them to consider the different views that employees have about their job when teams are formed or when specific combinations of tasks are assigned. For example, attention should be paid to the question of which mixture of professional role identities is most suitable to accomplish organizational objectives. Second, the construct of public service motivation can be used by human resource managers to assess whether public professionals are motivated to provide public services. However, the results also indicate that the operationalization of public service motivation needs to be adapted to the professional context of public service providers.

Reality Shock and Public Service Motivation: A Longitudinal, Qualitative Study Among Dutch Veterinary Inspectors

ABSTRACT To this day little is known about the mechanisms that help explain the mixed findings of longitudinal public service motivation (PSM) research. This study aims to deepen our understanding of post-entry PSM dynamics by focusing on the role of the often cited “reality shock” as a potential explanation for the decrease in PSM also found here. The results of this longitudinal, small-scale qualitative study of a specific cohort of newcomers who just started work as veterinary inspectors at the Dutch food safety authority suggest that a loss of PSM is not due to a generic shock effect, but is linked to having unclear job expectations and individual differences in coping behaviour.