Pay-for-performance has been widely adopted in the public sector to improve effectiveness and efficiency in service provision, which in turn positively affects employees’ satisfaction and commitment. Despite the presence of these initiatives in nearly every reform effort, limited concrete evidence of success has been highlighted. Through a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis on 17 social care organizations in Italy, the aim of this work is to contribute to the debate on human resources management practices in the public sector. Results suggest that pay-for-performance is effective when supported by other empowering practices. Furthermore, alternative combinations can produce the same positive effect on satisfaction and commitment.
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