National culture and public service motivation: investigating the relationship using Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions
| Author | Sangmook Kim |
| Published date | 01 March 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020852315596214 |
| Date | 01 March 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
International Review of
Administrative Sciences
2017, Vol. 83(1S) 23–40
!The Author(s) 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/0020852315596214
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International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
Article
National culture and public service
motivation: investigating the
relationship using Hofstede’s
five cultural dimensions
Sangmook Kim
Seoul National University of Science & Technology, Korea
Abstract
Much research has focused on finding and explaining the antecedents, correlates,
and outcomes of public service motivation (PSM), but little is known about the influence
of national context on individuals’ PSM. Previous research suggests that national
culture may exert an independent influence on individuals’ PSM. This article examines
PSM as an individual-level variable that is related to national culture, which is repre-
sented by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Using data from the International Social
Survey Programme (2005), I investigate the relationship between cultural dimensions
and individuals’ PSM. This article demonstrates that masculinity and indulgence are
positively related to individuals’ PSM, whereas individualism is negatively associated
with individuals’ PSM. However, power distance and uncertainty avoidance have
a non-significant relationship with PSM. This article provides partial support for the
thesis that national culture is associated with individuals’ PSM, but future research is
required to explicate the relationship of cultural characteristics to individuals’ PSM.
Points for practitioners
Culture influences certain types of behavior both directly and indirectly. The article
suggests that cultural tendencies such as masculinity, indulgence, and collectivism have a
significant positive influence on individuals’ PSM. Organizational education and social-
ization enhancing these cultural values are likely to foster employees’ PSM.
Keywords
civil service, ethics, human resources management, personnel policies, public
management
Corresponding author:
Professor Sangmook Kim, Department of Public Administration, Seoul National University of Science &
Technology, 232 Gongneung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul, 139-743, Korea.
Email: smook@seoultech.ac.kr / sangmook@gmail.com
Introduction
Public service motivation (PSM) concerns the motives that guide people’s behavior
(Wise, 2000). Many people from various situations seek to help others, advancing
the common good and the public interest (Brewer, 2011). Public service motives are
at the root of the actions taken to achieve outcomes that serve the public interest.
PSM is ‘an individual’s orientation to delivering services to people with a purpose
to do good for others and society’ (Perry and Hondeghem, 2008: vii). Thus, PSM is
a peculiar form of altruism or prosocial motivation (Bozeman and Su, 2015; Perry
et al., 2010). The greater an individual’s PSM, the more likely s/he is to engage in
behaviors that benefit the public, despite the loss of tangible rewards (Kim and
Vandenabeele, 2010).
Much research has been devoted to finding and explaining the antecedents, cor-
relates, and outcomes of PSM (see Belle
´and Cantarelli, 2012; Perry and
Hondeghem, 2008; Perry et al., 2010). One stream of research examines the institu-
tions that communicate norms, values, and beliefs to individuals. Pandey and Stazyk
(2008) show that the antecedents of PSM stem from both social institutions and
organizational factors. Social institutions such as profession and family, as well as
organizational factors such as culture, bureaucratic red tape, employee-friendly
reforms, hierarchy, and tenure, contribute to variation in PSM. Empirical studies
find that institutions such as family, occupation and work organization, religious
affiliation, and volunteer organizations have an important influence on PSM
(Camilleri, 2007; Moynihan and Pandey, 2007; Perry, 1997; Perry et al., 2008).
Analyzing survey data from 38 nations, Vandenabeele and Van de Walle (2008)
find national and regional variation in average PSM scores, which they attribute to
institutional differences. Westover and Taylor (2010) report that PSM levels differ
across countries. Houston (2011) suggests that national context matters for PSM
and that the institutions used to deliver public services affect societal attitudes.
Based on analyses of Swiss-German and Swiss-French data, the three studies ana-
lyze the relationship between societal culture and PSM. Anderfuhren-Biget (2012)
finds that cultural belonging has an important effect on the overall level of PSM.
Ritz and Brewer (2013) demonstrate that societal culture matters a great deal for
PSM. Anderfuhren-Biget et al. (2014) show that culture has an effect on PSM
overall, as well as its four constituent dimensions. Thus, we know that institutional
arrangement appears to influence the development of PSM, and that the level of
PSM varies across nations and cultures. It is therefore plausible that national cul-
ture is related to individuals’ PSM.
Single-nation studies are unable to explain the relevance of national culture to PSM.
Cross-cultural studies in cross-national contexts are more complex than are domestic
cross-cultural studies. To begin with, this research requires cross-level theorizing
and research methods by relating national-level characteristics to individual responses.
In addition, cross-national data collection introduces issues related to matching samples
and construct equivalence. These challenges go beyond those faced by scholars studying
cross-cultural differences in a single country or at a single levelwhenculturalvaluesare
treated as individual differences variables in studies of PSM (Tsui et al., 2007).
24 International Review of Administrative Sciences 83(1S)
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