The Effects of Public Service Motivation and Public Service Values on Organizational Performance of Local Government Officials - Focusing on the moderating effects of facilitative leadership -

Although the relationships between public service motivation and work-related outcomes are contingent on an employee’s psychological state, little empirical evidence exists on whether psychological empowerment conditions the relationship between public service motivation and perceived organizational performance in public organizations. This study addresses this gap by examining data from the 2010 US Merit Principles Survey on psychological empowerment’s moderating role between public service motivation and the perceived achievement of organizational goals, as well as the perceived quality of work-unit products and services in the US federal government. First, the findings indicate that public service motivation and psychological empowerment improve both of these perceived organizational performance measures. Second, the findings indicate that the link between public service motivation and perceived organizational performance is slightly enhanced when public employees feel more psychologically empowered. Points for practitioners This article offers practical lessons for practitioners who are concerned about improving organizational performance. Emphasizing the importance of psychological empowerment in strengthening the link between public service motivation and perceived organizational performance, the article suggests a critical need to cultivate psychological empowerment in the public sector, which has been under heavy pressure to do more with less in a rapidly changing environment.

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Public service motivation and organizational performance in Chinese provincial governments

Chinese Management Studies ◽

10.1108/cms-08-2016-0168 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 770-786 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Chunkui Zhu ◽

Chen Wu

Keyword(s):

Organizational Performance ◽

Public Service ◽

Public Service Motivation ◽

Provincial Government ◽

Civil Servants ◽

Hunan Province ◽

Government Employees ◽

Content Type ◽

The Public ◽

The Government

Purpose This paper aims to examine different hypotheses concerning the effects of public service motivation (PSM) and other attitudinal or institutional dimensions on organizational performance (OP). Specifically, based on the experience of Chinese provincial governments, this study provides new evidence about how PSM may affect OP. Design/methodology/approach This study collected data from a survey of different provincial government departments in Sichuan Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province and Chongqing Municipality in 2011. Using data from 761 respondents, Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to explore the relationships between related factors. Findings PSM, job satisfaction, affective commitment and job involvement have statistically significant effects on OP, and these results are consistent with the findings of previous researches that PSM positively affected OP at a significant level. The results suggest that, if civil servants have a strong PSM, the performance of their organizations will be high. Research limitations/implications Future research should look for additional factors that affect OP, comparing employees’ perceptions of an organization’s performance with objective data to determine whether, and to what degree, subjective measures of performance are valid measures of OP in the public sector. Practical implications In the process of improving government performance, it is significant to give attention to the government employees’ mentality. The government training and promotion system should encourage civil servants to care about the public interest. A more flattened organization should be considered as part of the next steps in government reform, and more opportunities should be provided to involve more government employees in policy making. Originality/value This study helps to clarify the effects of individual factors of PSM on OP in China in a tightly controlled bureaucratic environment, where related data are hardly accessible.

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