Research from China finds no significant difference in impact of public service motivation (PSM) in public and private sectors

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  

Purpose The authors assumed PSM would be higher in the public sector, but they set up a trial to find out if this was the case. Design/methodology/approach To test their theories, the authors conducted two independent surveys. The first consisted of 220 usable responses from public sector employees in Changsha, China. The second survey involved 260 usable responses from private sector employees taking an MBA course at a university in the Changsha district. A questionnaire was used to assess attitudes. Findings The results found no significant difference between the impact of public sector motivation (PSM) on employee performance across the public and private sectors. The data showed that PSM had a significant impact on self-reported employee performance, but the relationship did not differ much between sectors. Meanwhile, it was in the private sector that PSM had the greatest impact on intention to leave. Originality/value The authors said the research project was one of the first to test if the concept of PSM operated in the same way across sectors. It also contributed, they said, to the ongoing debate about PSM in China.

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 741-758
Author(s):  
Matthew Xerri ◽  
Farr-Wharton Ben ◽  
Yvonne Brunetto ◽  
Frank Crossan ◽  
Rona Beattie

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use conservation of resources (COR) theory as a lens for comparing the impact of line management on Bangladeshi public and private nurses’ perception of work harassment, well-being and turnover intentions where Anglo-American and European management models have been super-imposed on an existing different culture. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 317 Bangladeshi nurses’ (131 from the public sector and 186 from the private sector). Structural equation modelling was used for analysis. Findings High work harassment was associated with low-being, and together with management practices, it explained approximately a quarter of private sector nurses’ well-being. In total, management, work harassment and employee well-being explained approximately a third of the turnover intentions of public sector nurses, whereas only work harassment explained approximately a third of private sector nurses’ turnover intentions. The findings suggest a differential impact of management on work harassment across the public and private sector. Research limitations/implications Cross-sectional data are susceptible to common method bias. A common latent factor was included, and several items that were explained by common method variance were controlled. Further, the findings are limited by the sample size from one sector and the use of only one developing country. Practical implications It is a waste of resources to transplant Anglo-American and European management models to developing countries without understanding the impact on nurses’ outcomes. Originality/value Anglo-American and European management models are not easily transferable to the Bangladesh context probably because of the impact of ties and corruption. Line management is a positive resource that builds employee well-being for public sector employees only.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moumita Acharyya ◽  
Tanuja Agarwala

PurposeThe paper aims to understand the different motivations / reasons for engaging in CSR initiatives by the organizations. In addition, the study also examines the relationship between CSR motivations and corporate social performance (CSP).Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from two power sector organizations: one was a private sector firm and the other was a public sector firm. A comparative analysis of the variables with respect to private and public sector organizations was conducted. A questionnaire survey was administered among 370 employees working in the power sector, with 199 executives from public sector and 171 from private sector.Findings“Philanthropic” motivation emerged as the most dominant CSR motivation among both the public and private sector firms. The private sector firm was found to be significantly higher with respect to “philanthropic”, “enlightened self-interest” and “normative” CSR motivations when compared with the public sector firms. Findings suggest that public and private sector firms differed significantly on four CSR motivations, namely, “philanthropic”, “enlightened self-interest”, “normative” and “coercive”. The CSP score was significantly different among the two power sector firms of public and private sectors. The private sector firm had a higher CSP level than the public sector undertaking.Research limitations/implicationsFurther studies in the domain need to address differences in CSR motivations and CSP across other sectors to understand the role of industry characteristics in influencing social development targets of organizations. Research also needs to focus on demonstrating the relationship between CSP and financial performance of the firms. Further, the HR outcomes of CSR initiatives and measurement of CSP indicators, such as attracting and retaining talent, employee commitment and organizational climate factors, need to be assessed.Originality/valueThe social issues are now directly linked with the business model to ensure consistency and community development. The results reveal a need for “enlightened self-interest” which is the second dominant CSR motivation among the organizations. The study makes a novel contribution by determining that competitive and coercive motivations are not functional as part of organizational CSR strategy. CSR can never be forced as the very idea is to do social good. Eventually, the CSR approach demands a commitment from within. The organizations need to emphasize more voluntary engagement of employees and go beyond statutory requirements for realizing the true CSR benefits.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean D. Darling ◽  
J. Barton Cunningham

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify unique values and competencies linked to private and public sector environments. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on critical incident interviews with a sample of senior leaders who had experience in both the public and private sectors. Findings The findings illustrate distinct public and private sector relevant competencies that reflect the unique values of their organizations and the character of the organization’s environments. This paper suggests a range of distinct public sector competencies including: managing competing interests, managing the political environment, communicating in a political environment, interpersonal motivational skills, adding value for clients, and impact assessment in decision-making. These were very different than those identified as critical for the private sector environment: business acumen, visionary leadership, marketing communication, market acumen, interpersonal communication, client service, and timely and opportunistic decision-making. Private sector competencies reflect private sector environments where goals need to be specifically defined and implemented in a timely manner related to making a profit and surviving in a competitive environment. Public sector competencies are driven by environments exhibiting more complex and unresolvable problems and the need to respond to conflicting publics and serving the public good while surviving in a political environment. Originality/value A key message of this study is that competency frameworks need to be connected to the organization’s unique environments and the values that managers are seeking to achieve. This is particularly important for public organizations that have more complex and changing environments.


2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dermot McCarthy ◽  
Ping Wei ◽  
Fabian Homberg ◽  
Vurain Tabvuma

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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-155
Author(s):  
Porfirio Guevara ◽  
Robert Hill ◽  
Michael Scholz

Purpose This study aims to show how hedonic methods can be used to compare the performance of the public and private sector housing markets in Costa Rica. Design/methodology/approach Hedonic price indexes are computed using the adjacent-period method. Average housing quality is measured by comparing hedonic and median price indexes. The relative performance of the public and private sector residential construction is compared by estimating separate hedonic models for each sector. A private sector price is then imputed for each house built in the public sector, and a public sector price is imputed for each house built in the private sector. Findings The real quality-adjusted price of private housing rose by 12 per cent between 2000 and 2013, whereas the price of private housing rose by 9 per cent. The average quality of private housing rose by 45 per cent, whereas that of public housing fell by 18 per cent. Nevertheless, the hedonic imputation analysis reveals that public housing could not be produced more cheaply in the private sector. Social implications The quality of public housing has declined over time. The hedonic analysis shows that the decline is not because of a lack of competition between construction firms in the public sector. An alternative demand side explanation is provided. Originality/value This study applies hedonic methods in novel ways to compare the relative performance of the public and private housing sectors in Costa Rica. The results shed new light on the effectiveness of public sector housing programs.


1975 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 60-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.J.H. Dean

This article analyses the trend of earnings in the public and private sectors of the British economy from 1950 to 1975. It was found that public and private sector earnings moved closely together throughout the 1950s and 1960s but then diverged considerably in the early 1970s, with public sector earnings moving ahead of private sector earnings in an unprecedented fashion in 1974 and 1975; given the earlier stability in relative earnings, this movement might be temporary. There was a significant difference in the cyclical behaviour of the two series with public sector earnings generally increasing faster than private sector earnings during the downswing and vice versa during the upswing; this finding is consistent with the lesser exposure of the public sector to market pressures. Incomes policy does not appear to have affected relative earnings in any systematic way.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Paul L. Flemming

Conventional theory, which holds that there is a significant difference between leadership in the public and private sectors as leaders manage organizational culture to achieve strategic performance, has begun to be disputed by recent scholars in organizational behavior. The purpose of this study was to validate the views of organizational practitioners that private sector leaders are best suited to facilitate organizational efficiency by examining the link between leaders, culture, and employee performance. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) was distributed to middle managers (N=200) who worked in public and private sector organizations across the United States Virgin Islands to examine how the leaders used organizational culture to improve their organizations’ performances. The study found that leadership practices in both sectors have significant effects on performance. While the hierarchy culture was dominant in government agencies dictating effectiveness is the adherence to strict rules and regulations, the criteria of effectiveness most prominent in the private sector was market culture evident in the achieving of goals, outpacing the competition, increasing market share, and acquiring premium levels of financial returns. These findings suggest that, contrary to conventional theory, those leaders with the greatest organizational success are not restricted only to the private sector; but they are also evident in the public sector. This study concluded that leadership in both the public and the private sectors can induce a significant level of performance when strategies are aligned with organization’s culture and objectives as these organizations developed, grow, and mature.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harjeet Kour ◽  
Kamlesh Gakhar

Due to globalisation, public sector banks are facing tough competition from the private sector banks, both domestic and foreign. To improve their efficiency and to excel in performance, they have realised the significance of innovative HRM practices, which were earlier being used largely by private sector banks. The present study is based on primary data collected from four hundred two employees of eight banks of India comprising of four banks each from the public and private sector. We examine if there is any statistically significant difference between public and private sector banks in the implementation of forty nine innovative HRM practices. These practices fall under seven different heads: recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, compensation management, career development, employee motivation and employee security. The results of the t-tests indicate that in the area of innovative HRM, organisational policies and practices in the public and private sectors remain different in many important respects. It has been found that the private sector banks are far ahead of the public sector banks regarding the implementation of these practices. Further, it has been found with the help of different statistical tools that the level of implementation of these innovations in the eight surveyed banks also varies when examined individually.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (23) ◽  
pp. 388-404
Author(s):  
Sefer Gümüş

In the enterprises, the fact that the employees are motivated well depends on their managers and the employees’ performance. Employees’ performance is supported through theories but the targets can be achieved by action. In managing the enterprises which continue their existence for attaining certain aims, it is quite important for them to be motivated in achieving success and efficiency. Motivation is a necessity. Its existence makes the enterprise reach its targets. Its absence vanquishes the enterprise from the market. The aim of using motivation factors is to make the employees be successful in all activity areas. In our study, it was elaborated on the motivation and performance differences of public and private sector enterprises, and it was seen that the motivation variables employed by the managers in different sectors display different performances by the managers in different sectors. Because of that this concept which has gained importance today in all areas and sectors involves economic and organizational factors which differ as to the enterprises ad play a role in the development of enterprises, these factors were elaborated in our research. In the name of examining the motivation and its factors, it was conducted a comparative practice based on the public and private sectors, and when the statistical results based on the data is considered, it was concluded that there is a significant difference. Motivation variables in the public sector have differences from the private sector in terms of practice and perception. When an examination is applied by including authority and laws and regulations, the mandatory practices harden the application of motivation factors and even make them impossible. It was concluded from this difference that motivation factors emerge a bit more in the public sector, but it was faced with problems in using them on behalf of the employee in practice. In our research, the survey method was used, and our study was analyzed in Statistics Program SPSS 17.0 medium. It was conducted the evaluation of the tables, and it was brought forward conclusions and recommendations. Keywords: Motivation, Motive, Need, behavior, Public, Private Sector


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1405-1422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Rafael Minetto Maceta ◽  
Fernando Tobal Berssaneti

Purpose Project portfolio management (PPM) is a managerial technique used to seek the strategic goals of organizations improving their performance. The public sector has some characteristics that differ from the private sector, since their management approaches are different. The purpose of this paper is to compare the PPM’s practices and techniques in the public and private sectors. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the study case methodology through eight case studies that were undertaken in Brazil: four in public and four in private sectors. The field research used semi-structured interviews that were analyzed using the NVivo software. Findings In both sectors, strategic alignment is the goal of PPM, and the same tools are employed. The public sector displays better process documentation and lower risk awareness than the private sector, showing an improvement point for the public sector. The selection and prioritization criteria differ from each sector, showing the difference in the strategic goals of public and private sectors. Research limitations/implications The limitations of this paper are related to the number of organizations studied; however, the case studies represent organizations from different sectors and industries maximizing heterogeneity, but focusing on Brazil. Social implications The prioritization and effective allocation of projects spending in the Brazilian public sector could be improved with the comparison of their current practices with the ones used in private sector, increasing its transparency and cost allocation. Originality/value This study broadens the understanding of PPM in the public sector, which is a gap in the academic literature, comparing its practices with those used in the private sector.


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