Since the initial ‘public service motivation’ concept and measures were developed, various studies have raised concerns with regard to cultural differences. According to previous research trying to supplement the four original dimensions of the original construct with a fifth dimension, this study follows this same strategy, taking into account three aspects of the Napoleonic administrative tradition. The analysis captures one new dimension with political loyalty values, which slightly improves the measurement of public service motivation in that specific context.
Points for practitioners
Previous research has showed that ‘public service motivation’ has consequences in terms of individual and collective behaviour and, thus, it may contribute to improve organizations. Public service motivation has been related to performance, organizational commitment and job satisfaction, among other attitudes and behaviours. It has also been used by public administrations in job selection processes.
AlonsoPLewisG (2001) Public service motivation and job performance: Evidence from the federal sector. American Review of Public Administration31: 363–380.
2.
BrewerGASeldenSC (1998) Whistle blowers in the federal civil service: New evidence of the public service ethic. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory8(3): 413–439.
3.
BrewerGASeldenSCFacerRL (2000) Individual conceptions of public service motivation. Public Administration Review60: 254–264.
4.
BryantFBSatorraA (2012) Principles and practice of scaled difference Chi-square testing. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal19(3): 372–398.
5.
CamilleriE (2006) Towards developing an organisational commitment. Public service motivation model for the Maltese public service employees. Public Policy and Administration21(1): 63–83.
6.
CastaingS (2006) The effects of psychological contract fulfillment and public service motivation on organizational commitment in the French civil service. Public Policy and Administration21(1): 84–98.
7.
Cerase F and Farinella D (2006) Exploration in public service motivation: The case of the Italian revenue service. Paper presented at the annual European Group of Public Administration Conference, Milan.
8.
ChristensenRKWrightBE (2011) The effects of public service motivation on job choice decisions: Disentangling the contributions of person–organization fit and person–job fit. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory21: 723–743.
9.
CourseyDHPandeySK (2007) Public service motivation measurement. Administration and Society39(5): 547–568.
10.
CourseyDHPerryJLBrudneyJL (2008) Psychometric verification of Perry's public service motivation instrument. Review of Public Personnel Administration28(1): 79–90.
11.
FornellCLarckerDF (1981) Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research18(1): 39–50.
12.
GallegoR (2003) Public management policy making in Spain, 1982–1996: Policy entrepreneurship and (in)opportunity windows. International Public Management Journal6(3): 283–307.
13.
GiauqueDRitzAVaroneF (2011) Putting public service motivation into context: A balance between universalism and particularism. International Review of Administrative Sciences77(2): 227–253.
14.
Gobierno de España, Ministerio de Hacienda (2009) Boletín Estadístico del Personal al Servicio de las Administraciones Públicas, Madrid: Gobierno de España, Ministerio de la Presidencia.
15.
HairJFJrBlackWCBabinBJ (2006) Multivariate Data Analysis, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
16.
Hansen MB (2009) Antecedents of public service motivation: The case of Danish municipal managers. Paper presented at the International Public Service Motivation Research Conference, Bloomington, IN, USA.
17.
KimS (2005) Individual-level factors and organizational performance in government organizations. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory15(2): 245–261.
18.
KimS (2009) Testing the structure of public service motivation in Korea: A research note. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory19(4): 149–163.
19.
KimSVandenabeeleW (2010) A strategy for building public service motivation research internationally. Public Administration Review70(5): 701–709.
20.
KimSVandenabeeleWWrightB (2012) Investigating the structure and meaning of public service motivation across populations: Developing an international instrument and addressing issues of measurement invariance. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory23: 79–102.
21.
LiuBTangNZhuX (2008) Public service motivation and job satisfaction in China: An investigation of generalisability and instrumentality. International Journal of Manpower29(8): 684–699.
22.
MoynihanDPPandeySK (2007) The role of organizations in fostering public service motivation. Public Administration Review67(1): 40–53.
23.
NorrisP (2003) Is there still a public service ethos? Work values, experience, and job satisfaction among government workers. In: DonahueJDNyeJSJr (eds) For the People, Can We Fix Public Service?, Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, pp. 72–89.
24.
PandeySKWrightBEMoynihanDP (2008) Public service motivation and interorganizational citizenship behavior: Testing a preliminary model. International Public Management Journal11: 89–108.
25.
ParradoS (2008) Failed policies but institutional innovation through ‘layering’ and ‘diffusion’ in Spanish central administration. The International Journal of Public Sector Management21(2): 230–252.
26.
PerryJL (1996) Measuring public service motivation: An assessment of construct reliability and validity. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory6(1): 5–22.
27.
PerryJLWiseLR (1990) The motivational bases of public service. Public Administration Review50(3): 367–373.
28.
PetersBG (2008) The Napoleonic tradition. The International Journal of Public Sector Management21(2): 118–133.
29.
RaineyHGSteinbauerP (1999) Galloping elephants: Developing elements of a theory of effective government organizations. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory9(1): 1–32.
30.
RitzA (2009) Public service motivation and organizational performance in Swiss federal government. International Review of Administrative Sciences75(1): 53–78.
31.
RitzA (2011) Attraction to public policy making: A qualitative inquiry into improvements in PSM measurement. Public Administration89(3): 1128–1147.
32.
RitzAWaldnerC (2011) Competing for future leaders. A study of attractiveness of public sector organizations to potential job applicants. Review of Public Personnel Administration31(3): 291–316.
33.
SatorraABentlerP (1994) Corrections to test statistics and standard errors in covariance structure analysis. In: Von EyeACloggCC (eds) Latent Variable Analysis, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
34.
SeldenSCBrewerGABrudneyJL (1999) Reconciling competing values in public administration. Understanding the administrative role concept. Administration and Society31(2): 171–204.
35.
SteijnB (2008) Person–environment fit and public service motivation. International Public Management Journal11(1): 13–27.
36.
TaylorJ (2007) The impact of public service motivation on work outcomes in Australia: A comparative multi-dimensional analysis. Public Administration85(4): 931–959.
37.
VandenabeeleW (2007) Toward a theory of public service motivation: An institutional approach. Public Management Review9(4): 545–556.
38.
VandenabeeleW (2008) Development of a public service motivation measurement scale: Corroborating and extending Perry's measurement instrument. International Public Management Journal11: 143–167.
39.
VandenabeeleWVan de WalleS (2008) International differences in public service motivation: Comparing regions across the world. In: PerryJHondeghemA (eds) Motivation in Public Management: The Call of Public Service, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 233–244.
40.
VandenabeeleWHondeghemASteenT (2004) The civil service as an employer of choice in Belgium: How work orientations influence the attractiveness of public employment. Review of Public Personnel Administration24(4): 319–333.
41.
WiseLR (2000) The public service culture. In: StillmanR (ed.) Public Administration Concepts and Cases, Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, pp. 342–353.
42.
WrightBE (2008) Methodological challenges associated with public service motivation research. In: PerryJHondeghemA (eds) Motivation in Public Management: The Call of Public Service, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 80–98.
43.
WrightBEPandeySK (2008) Public service motivation and the assumption of person–organization fit: Testing the mediating effect of value congruence. Administration and Society40(5): 502–521.
