Investigating and explaining organizational antecedents of PSM
| Pages | 28-56 |
| Published date | 13 May 2014 |
| Date | 13 May 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-07-2013-0021 |
| Author | C. Schott,J.L.J. Pronk |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
Investigating and explaining
organizational antecedents
of PSM
C. Schott
Department of Public Administration, Leiden University,
Leiden, The Netherlands, and
J.L.J. Pronk
Department of Public Administration and Department of Economics,
Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
Abstract
Purpose – First, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the public service motivation (PSM)
literature by increasing the limited knowledge of organizational antecedents of PSM. Second, by
combining PSM with insights from self-determination theory (SDT), the paper aims to elucidate the
link through which high-performance work systems (HPWS) relate to PSM.
Design/methodology/approach – Using a survey, the authors investigated nurses’ perceptions of
HPWS, PSM, and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs in four different German hospitals.
Findings – The results of this study provide empirical evidence that PSM is influenced by several HR
practices and the three basic psychological needs autonomy, relatedness, and competence, which in
turn are influenced by certain HR practices as well. Basic psychological needs do not fully mediate the
relationship between HPWS and PSM.
Research limitations/implications – Four dimensions of HPWS are measured by a single item
and the results are based on a German sample. They therefore might not apply to other countries.
Future research will benefit from using a more corroborated measurement instrument of HPWS in
different countries.
Practical implications – This study offers useful insights forHR managers inthe nu rsing sector on
the question how PSM can be fostered effectively.
Originality/value – Thisstudy adds to the limitedknowledge of organizational antecedentsof PSM by
including ideas from HRM into the study of PSM. Second, by combining PSM with insights from
psychology(SDT), this studysheds light on themediating mechanismswhich help to explainhow HPWS
relate to PSM; a conceptual model explaining the HPWS-PSM relationship is developed and tested.
Keywords Employee motivation, HRM in the public sector, Public service motivation (PSM),
Organizational antecedents, High-performance work systems (HPWS), Self-determination theory (SDT)
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
One type of work motivation which has gained a considerable amount of attention over
the last two decades is public service motivation (PSM) or the motives and actions,
grounded in public institutions, which are intended to benefit others and shape
their well-being (Perry and Hondeghem, 2008). Originating from the field of public
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/2049-3983.htm
Received 20 July 2013
Revised 30 November 2013
19 December 2013
Accepted 22 December 2013
Evidence-based HRM: a Global
Forum for Empirical Scholarship
Vol. 2 No. 1, 2014
pp. 28-56
rEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited
2049-3983
DOI 10.1108/EBHRM-07-2013-0021
At the time the research was completed C. Schott was affiliated to the Utrecht School of
Governance, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
The authors thank Wouter Vandenabeele for helpful comments on a previous version of this
paper.
This paper was co-financed by NWO (the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research).
28
EBHRM
2,1
administration, the concept has been adopted by oth er disciplines such as economics,
psychology, and sociology (Ritz et al., 2013). Because PSM seems to be a promising
concept to identify predictable links between what drives employees and
organizational outcomes, both academics and practitioners are interested in the
concept (Brewer, 2008; Vandenabeele, 2009).
A large amount of quantitative research exists investigating the effect of PSM
on performance-related outcome variables such as job satisfaction, organizational
commitment, and interpersonal citizenship behavior (e.g. Bright, 2008; Leisink and Steijn,
2009; Pandey et al., 2008). In contrast, only a minor strand of research focusses on the
antecedents of PSM (e.g. Perry, 1997; Moynihan and Pandey, 2007; Camilleri, 2007). Perry
and Hondeghem (2008) and Leisink (2004) agree that organizations should play a more
active role in reinforcing and sustaining PSM. Only one study can be found investigating
the effect of human resource (HR) management on PSM in a Swiss context among civil
servants (Giauque et al., 2013). More knowledge about how work needs to be organized
in order to present a favorable basis for PSM is necessary, given that PSM is possibly
related to performance (e.g. Leisink and Steijn 2009; Andersen and Serritzlew, 2012).
In this study, we address organizational antecedents as employee’s perceptions of
high-performance work systems (HPWS) and investigate their impact on PSM. HPWS
can be seen as a bundle of interconnected but separate innovative HR practices which
aim to enhance employee’s skills and effort (Huselid, 1995; Wood and Wall, 2002).
Examples of HPWS are job characteristics and organizational communication. A large
amount of research exists and documents the impact of HPWS on organizational
performance (e.g. Youndt et al., 1996; MacDuffie1995; Becker and Huselid, 1998; Combs
et al., 2006). More recent research started to investigate the influence of HPWS on
individual-level variables and focusses on the mechanisms that underlie the HPWS-
performance relationship (e.g. Takeuchi et al., 2007; Wu and Chaturvedi, 2009).
However, as far as we know, only one study exists which addresses the impact of
HPWS on PSM (Giauque et al., 2013).
Next to the limited knowledge focussing on organizational antecedents of PSM, no
attention has been p aid to the underlying mechanisms which explain h ow
organizational antecedents influence PSM. Deci and Ryan’s (2000) self-determination
theory (SDT), a highly developed self-regulation framework, provides a plausible and
detailed explanation for the phenomenon of PSM on an individual level of analysis.
According to this theory, intrinsic motivation increases if three basic psychological
needs (need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness) are satisfied.
This study has two main objectives. First, we aim to increase the limited knowledge
of organizationalantecedents of PSM. Using literature on HPWS, we try to explain how
HR management can foster PSM. By doing so, we cannotonly advise HR managers how
to increase the level of PSM, but we also contribute to the general debate on the
implications of HPWS in public sector organizations. Furthermore, by combining PSM
with insights from SDT, we examine the intermediate links through which HPWS
relate to PSM. This knowledge is theoretically relevant because it contributes to our
understanding of the origins of PSM and its relationship with broader motivational
psychological literature. By integrating these different disciplines of social science, we
develop a conceptualmodel in order to explain the HPWS-PSM relationship. Nextto this,
we also contribute empirical values to the PSMliterature by testing the proposed model.
This paper consists of five sections. We start with an introduction of PSM, HPWS,
SDT, and the interrelation thereof, followed by the formulation of specific hypotheses.
Second, we will conduct a brief introduction of the context of this study, which is the
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Organizational
antecedents
of PSM
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