Crafting a Bright Future: Exploring How and When Public Service Motivation Leads to Civil Servants’ Subjective Career Success

Abstract

Although extensive research has examined the relationship between public service motivation and job-related outcomes among civil servants, limited attention has been paid to its career-related consequences. Drawing on the model of proactive motivation, this study investigates how and when public service motivation fosters civil servants’ subjective career success. Through a two-wave questionnaire survey of 270 civil servants from China, the findings reveal that public service motivation has a positive effect on civil servants’ subjective career success via the mediating role of career crafting. Moreover, visionary leadership and future work self-salience can strengthen this mediated relationship. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Keywords

public service motivation subjective career success career crafting future work self-salience visionary leadership

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