Political Upheaval and Bureaucratic Behavior: Quasi-Experimental Evidence for Public Sector HRM

Abstract

This study employs a quasi-experimental pre–post research design, exploiting a political uprising in Bangladesh as an exogenous shock to examine its effects on the organizational behaviors of public servants. Drawing on a unique pre- and post-uprising survey, the study categorizes bureaucratic behaviors into situational and dispositional responses. The findings show that political instability primarily disrupts context-dependent organizational dynamics (situational), while core individual values (dispositional) remain comparatively stable. Situational behaviors, such as job satisfaction and inter-service relationships, decline significantly following the regime change due to heightened uncertainty, role ambiguity, and job insecurity. In contrast, dispositional behaviors, such as Public Service Motivation (PSM) and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), remain resilient, suggesting that deeply internalized values are less vulnerable to political disruptions. By distinguishing between situational and dispositional behaviors, the study contributes to understanding bureaucratic resilience during political crises and offers practical implications for public-sector human resource management following political upheaval.