Ethical Climate and Whistleblowing Intentions: Testing the Mediating Roles of Public Service Motivation and Psychological Safety Among Local Government Employees

2020 ◽  
pp. 009102602094454
Author(s):  
Wisanupong Potipiroon ◽  
Achakorn Wongpreedee
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Ethical Climate ◽  
Psychological Safety ◽  
Public Service Motivation ◽  
Government Employees ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
The Individual

Local governments in several developing countries are plagued with corruption. This study draws attention to the role of organizational ethical climate in promoting whistleblowing intentions among local government employees and asks whether public service motivation (PSM) and perceptions of psychological safety mediate this relationship. Based on survey data of 365 employees in 40 local governments in Thailand, our multilevel analysis confirms that the relationships between ethical climate and internal and external whistleblowing intentions were indirect. In particular, psychological safety was found to play a mediating role at both the individual and organizational levels of analysis, whereas the mediating role of PSM was observed only at the individual level. The findings also revealed the presence of “collective PSM” at the organizational level, which in turn helped to facilitate external whistleblowing intentions. This research unveils the importance of individual- and organization-level factors in the whistleblowing decision-making process.

Public Service Motivation in a Work Group: Role of Ethical Climate and Servant Leadership

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Chul Shim ◽  
Hyun Hee Park
Keyword(s):  
Servant Leadership ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Ethical Climate ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Work Group ◽  
Public Service Motivation ◽  
Government Employees ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual

The current study attempts to examine Perry’s assertion that the public service motivation (PSM) of government employees may be influenced by the logic of appropriateness. Based on a survey of 596 Korean local government employees in 110 work groups, this study investigated the associations between ethical climate, servant leadership, and PSM. Multilevel structural equation models (SEM) were employed. At the individual level, ethical climate (i.e., efficiency, rule/law, independence) was significantly associated with PSM. However, at the work group level, ethical climate did not demonstrate a significant association with PSM. In addition, this study found that servant leadership is effective in helping government employees develop PSM at both the individual and work group levels.

The dimensional linkage between public service motivation and innovative behavior in public sector institutions; the mediating role of psychological empowerment

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Asim Rafique ◽  
Yumei Hou ◽  
Muhammad Adnan Zahid Chudhery ◽  
Nida Gull ◽  
Syed Jameel Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Psychological Empowerment ◽  
Public Service Motivation ◽  
Innovative Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeInnovations are imperative for organizational growth and sustainability. This study focuses on the employees' innovative behavior, a source of organizational innovations, which has received substantial attention from the researchers. Based on the psychological empowerment theory, the study exposes the effect of the various dimensions of public service motivation (PSM) on employees' innovative behavior (IB) in public sector institutions especially in the context of developing countries such as Pakistan. Moreover, the study also investigates the mediating role of psychological empowerment (PSE) between the dimensions of PSM and IB.Design/methodology/approachThis study used the cross-sectional research design. By using random sampling, the adapted survey questionnaires were used to collect data from 346 faculty members of public sector universities located in provincial capitals of Pakistan. A partial least square–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) tool was used to assess the proposed hypotheses through SMART-PLS software.FindingsResults revealed that attraction to policymaking (APM), compassion (COM), self-sacrifice (SS) have a significant impact on employees' PSE and their innovative behavior, while the relationship of commitment to the public interest (CPI) with PSE and IB was found insignificant. Moreover, PSE partially mediated the relationship between PSM dimensions and employees' IB.Originality/valueThere was a scarcity of research on IB especially in public sector institutions such as academia. This study theoretically contributed to the literature by providing a refined picture in assessing the proposed relationship of the constructs. This is also one of the original studies that examine the relationship between the dimensions of PSM and IB.

scholarly journals Harnessing Sustainable Motivation: A Grounded Theory Exploration of Public Service Motivation in Local Governments of the State of Oregon, United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sajjad Haider ◽  
Guoxian Bao ◽  
Gary L. Larsen ◽  
Muhammad Umar Draz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Service Motivation ◽  
The State ◽  
Government Employees ◽  
Public Sector Employees

Employee motivation has always been a matter of concern for both public and private sector organizations. Since the industrial revolution in the late 18th century, organizations have struggled to foster workforce motivation and morale to enhance productivity. While a plethora of literature focuses on private sector motivation research, public sector organizations receive only modest scholarly attention. However, a new concept has emerged in public management literature during the late 1980s and 1990s, later known as public service motivation (PSM). The debate about PSM is premised on the notion that the motivation of public sector employees is quite different from their private sector counterparts because of their orientation to public service. Perry and Wise (1990) expressed this concept in the theory of PSM. Subsequently, a growing stream of scholarship has emerged which explores the many aspects of antecedents and outcomes related to PSM. However, questions remain about how to best keep the motivation of public sector employees sustainably high, and about what factors embolden or enervate the motivation and morale of public sector employees. This study focuses on the sustainable work motivation of local government employees. Its arguments and discussions draw from PSM theory, total quality management (TQM) principles, and inspiration from Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study examines and attempts to uncover the career trajectories of local government employees in the State of Oregon, United States, through a rigorous grounded theory method (GTM) of inquiry. The study reveals a number of factors that facilitate and/or inhibit employees’ PSM. We expect the findings to be useful for both practitioners and government human resource policymakers in understanding the subtlety and vicissitudes of public sector employee careers and motivations.

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