Nina Mari van Loon

On the bright and dark side of public service motivation: the relationship between PSM and employee wellbeing

This paper reveals that the relationship between public service motivation (PSM) and employee wellbeing depends on the societal impact potential (SIP) through the job and organizational type. In people-changing organizations, PSM relates to higher burnout and lower job satisfaction when SIP is high: employees sacrifice themselves too much for society. However, in people-processing organizations, low SIP relates to higher burnout and lower job satisfaction: employees experience frustration if they cannot contribute. This shows that whether PSM relates positively depends on institutional logics.

Talking the Talk of Public Service Motivation: How Public Organization Logics Matter for Employees' Expressions of PSM

This article aims to move beyond the public-private dichotomy in studying public service motivation (PSM) by showing how organizational logics matter for the type of PSM (instrumental, normative, or affective) that employees express. Using data from 50 interviews in police stations, prisons, hospitals, municipalities, and schools, we show that differences in service logic (the users feeling of the desirability of a service) and user logic (people-changing or people-processing services) matter for employees’ expressions of PSM in that this results in different emphases within public service motivation. We conclude that institutions such as organizational logics matter for PSM expressions and that research on PSM should account for differences between public service-providing organizations.

Clarifying the Relationship Between Public Service Motivation and In-Role and Extra-Role Behaviors: The Relative Contributions of Person-Job and Person-Organization Fit:

A core proposition of public service motivation (PSM) theory is that PSM is positively related to individual performance. Some studies, however, suggest that this relationship is mediated by person-job or person-organization fit. This study aims to further clarify the relationship between PSM and performance by, first, studying the mediation role of both person-job and person-organization fits and, second, by investigating this mediation for both in-role and extra-role behavior. Whereas in-role behavior is aimed at the individual task, extra-role is aimed at helping colleagues. This difference may matter for the role of PSM and fit. To this end, we conducted structural equation modeling with bootstrapping on self-reported survey data from public employees (n = 1,031). The analysis showed that person-job, but not person-organization fit, fully mediated the relationship between PSM and in-role behavior. The relationship with extra-role behavior was not mediated. The PSM-performance relationship may thus be more complex than previously envisioned, as both type of performance and person-job fit matter.

Only When the Societal Impact Potential Is High? A Panel Study of the Relationship Between Public Service Motivation and Perceived Performance

Many studies find positive associations between public service motivation (PSM) and performance, but much of this literature is based on cross-sectional data prone to endogeneity and common method bias. Moreover, we know little about potential moderators. In this study, we test the moderating role of societal impact potential (SIP)—the degree to which the job is perceived to provide opportunities to contribute to society. We use cross-sectional data from 13,967 employees in 2010 and 2012 aggregated to construct longitudinal data for 42 organizations. As expected, the association between PSM and individual perceived performance is positive when SIP is high. However, when SIP is low, PSM is only weakly or not at all related to performance. This is an important insight for organizations that try to enhance performance through PSM. Our findings suggest that this can only be done when the employees think that their jobs allow them to contribute to society.

Does Context Matter for the Type of Performance-Related Behavior of Public Service Motivated Employees?:

Empirical studies have found a positive relationship between public service motivation (PSM) and individual performance. However, it is unclear what public service motivated employees are doing in terms of behavior that makes them perform. Moreover, it is uncertain whether PSM inspires similar behaviors among employees in different contexts. Conceptualizing performance as a multidimensional construct, this study investigates the relationship between PSM and self-reported output, service outcome, responsiveness, and democratic outcome behaviors. Using structural equation modeling on survey data from 459 employees in people-changing (service production, aimed at changing the user) and 461 employees in people-processing (service regulation, categorizing, and processing users) organizations, the results show that PSM is related to all performance-related behaviors in the people-changing group, but neither to output nor responsiveness in the people-processing group. PSM’s relationship to behavior may thus differ between contexts.Empirical studies have found a positive relationship between public service motivation (PSM) and individual performance. However, it is unclear what public service motivated employees are doing in terms of behavior that makes them perform. Moreover, it is uncertain whether PSM inspires similar behaviors among employees in different contexts. Conceptualizing performance as a multidimensional construct, this study investigates the relationship between PSM and self-reported output, service outcome, responsiveness, and democratic outcome behaviors. Using structural equation modeling on survey data from 459 employees in people-changing (service production, aimed at changing the user) and 461 employees in people-processing (service regulation, categorizing, and processing users) organizations, the results show that PSM is related to all performance-related behaviors in the people-changing group, but neither to output nor responsiveness in the people-processing group. PSM’s relationship to behavior may thus diff...

Is Public Service Motivation Related to Overall and Dimensional Work-Unit Performance as Indicated by Supervisors?

ABSTRACTDue to the use of self-reported data and mixed findings, doubts have been raised about the positive relationships found between public service motivation (PSM) and performance. This study aims to provide a robust test of the PSM–performance relationship by using work-unit supervisor ratings, thereby decreasing the risk of common-source bias. Further, this study provides a robustness test by analyzing the relationship between PSM and overall performance, as well as with various dimensions thereof (output, efficiency, service outcome, responsiveness, and resilience). Survey data on employees in 55 work-units of a healthcare organization were analyzed using multiple regression. The results indicate that PSM is significantly related to overall performance but, when regressed on the separate dimensions, PSM is not significantly related to efficiency and responsiveness. The results have implications for both theory and practice as they show that whether PSM relates to performance depends on how performa...ABSTRACT Due to the use of self-reported data and mixed findings, doubts have been raised about the positive relationships found between public service motivation (PSM) and performance. This study aims to provide a robust test of the PSM–performance relationship by using work-unit supervisor ratings, thereby decreasing the risk of common-source bias. Further, this study provides a robustness test by analyzing the relationship between PSM and overall performance, as well as with various dimensions thereof (output, efficiency, service outcome, responsiveness, and resilience). Survey data on employees in 55 work-units of a healthcare organization were analyzed using multiple regression. The results indicate that PSM is significantly related to overall performance but, when regressed on the separate dimensions, PSM is not significantly related to efficiency and responsiveness. The results have implications for both theory and practice as they show that whether PSM relates to performance depends on how performance is conceptualized.

Does Public Service Motivation Matter? A Study of Participation in Various Volunteering Domains

This article examines the extent to which public service motivation (PSM), more specifically the PSM dimension commitment to the public interest (CPI), is related to volunteering. The claims for th...

Speaking Up and Activism Among Frontline Employees: How Professional Coping Influences Work Engagement and Intent to Leave Among Teachers:

Demands that exceed time and resources place pressure on public professionals, resulting in coping behavior. This study aims to provide insight in the prevalence and consequences of taking a more active strategy, professional coping. Next to traditional forms of coping studied in public administration, studying active coping can result in more insight in when and with what consequences frontline employees speak up and resist pressures. We explore to what degree teachers use speaking out using professional norms as a way to tackle the pressures they face. Moreover, we analyze the relationship between professional coping, work engagement, and intent to leave as important indicators of how immersed frontline employees are in their work. Using survey data (n = 1,270) from primary school teachers, we conclude that professional coping is in general regularly but not very often applied, but that professional coping is related to higher work engagement and lower intent to leave. We conclude that studying active coping strategies can not only be important for street-level literature in gaining insight in all types of behavior and their consequences but also for public service providers aiming for an engaged workforce.