Public service-oriented work motives across Europe: A cross-country, multi-level investigation
| Published date | 01 September 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00208523211045251 |
| Author | Fabian Homberg,Jens Mohrenweiser |
| Date | 01 September 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Public service-oriented
work motives across
Europe: A cross-country,
multi-level investigation
Fabian Homberg
Luiss University, Italy
Jens Mohrenweiser
Bournemouth University, UK
Abstract
This article disentangles the country-specific institutional system at the macro level from
individual-level attraction and socialization in measuring public service-oriented work
motives across European countries through public–private sector comparisons. We
argue that country-specific institutions shape the level of public service-oriented work
motives of each country and thereby generate level differences across countries. In con-
trast, public–private sector differences, (i.e. gaps), in public service-oriented work
motives within a country reflect aspects of individual-level attraction and socialization.
We use the 2005 and 2010 waves of the European Working Conditions Survey and dem-
onstrate that the levels and gaps are empirically distinct phenomena, contrary to current
treatment in the literature. We conclude that the distinction between levels and gaps can
advance understanding of the antecedents of public service-oriented work motives and
support the institutional theory of public ser vice-oriented work motives.
Points for practitioners
This article argues and provides evidence for the fact that levels of work motives
oriented towards public service that are visible in a cross-country comparison should
not be confused with the gap of such work motives inside one country. This distinction
is important because in countries where gaps between the sectors are almost non-exist-
ent and levels are generally high, interventions geared towards public service-oriented
work motives are less likely to be effective.
Corresponding author:
Fabian Homberg, Department of Business and Management, Luiss University, Viale Romania 32, Roma 00197,
Italy.
Email: fhomberg@luiss.it
Article
International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
International Review of Administrative
Sciences
2023, Vol. 89(3) 667–684
© The Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/00208523211045251
journals.sagepub.com/home/ras
Keywords
administrative traditions, European Working Conditions Survey, institutional systems,
public service-oriented work motives
Introduction
Public service motivation (PSM) is frequently considered a main driver for individuals in
public sector careers because it is ‘a particular form of altruism or pro-social motivation
that is animated by specific dispositions and values arising from public institutions and
missions’(Perry et al., 2010: 682). Such individual motivational dispositions are not uni-
versal, but shaped by country-specific institutional systems (Bellé and Ongaro, 2014;
Kuhlmann, 2010; Painter and Peters, 2010). These systems may support the development
of selected public service-oriented work motives in society, resulting in variations in
public service-oriented work motives across countries (Vandenabeele, 2007, 2011;
Houston, 2011).
The available empirical evidence on private–public sector differences in public
service-oriented work motives displays huge variations, ranging from largely positive
to insignificant and negative effects (see, among others, Bullock et al., 2015; Kjeldsen
and Andersen, 2013; Westover and Taylor, 2010). We argue that such inconsistent
results are partly caused by contextual differences, in particular, the configuration of
country-specific institutional systems. Hence, disentangling the country-specific institu-
tional system at the macro level from individual-level attraction and socialization in
measuring public service-oriented work motives can improve the understanding of insti-
tutional roots of public service-oriented work motives. We build on Perry’s (2015)
assessment that country-specific institutional systems shape public service-oriented
work motives and argue that these inconsistencies require researchers to disentangle
two overlapping processes.
Each country has a unique set of historically developed institutions that affect the
development of societal values of all its citizens through the transmission of public
values (Vandenabeele, 2011). Institutions are country specific and, hence, reflect different
configurations of values across countries. Consequently, the average of public
service-oriented work motives might vary strongly across countries. We label this the
‘level’of work motives oriented towards public service. For example, one might
observe a large proportion of individuals with a high level of public service-oriented
work motives in one country but a very low proportion in another one. A high level in
a specific country demonstrates that country-specific institutional systems foster public
service-oriented work motives for all citizens.
Within one single country, research consistently finds that public service-oriented
work motives are more dominant in the public sector than in the private sector
(Bullock et al., 2015; Perry et al., 2010). We label this the work motives ‘gap’.Gaps
describe the public–private sector differences in public service-oriented work motives
within a country. Such gaps between sectors contain important information regarding
668 International Review of Administrative Sciences 89(3)
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