The Effects of Psychological Contract Fulfilment and Public Service Motivation on Organizational Commitment in the French Civil Service
| Date | 01 January 2006 |
| DOI | 10.1177/095207670602100106 |
| Published date | 01 January 2006 |
| Author | Sébastien Castaing |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
The
Effects
of
Psychological
Contract
Fulfilment
and
Public
Service
Motivation
on
Organizational
Commitment
in
the
French
Civil
Service
Se'bastien
Castaing
Universite'
Toulouse
Abstract
In
a
context
where
French
public
organizations
are
confronted
with
a
rise
in
the
demandfor
high-quality
services,
with
limitedfinancial
resources
and
with
a
new
form
of
management
based
upon
a
'results
culture',
understanding
work
commitment
in
the
civil
service
seems
to
be
more
crucial
than
ever
Committing
servants
to
their
public
organization
is
necessary
to
improve
public
services
quality.
According
to
Perry
and
Wise
(1990),
public
service
motivation
seems
to
be
important
in
explaining
organizational
commitment
in
public
organizations.
Further,
psychological
contract
and
organizational
commitment
appear
to
be
significantly
associated
in
public
organizations
(Coyle-Shapiro
and
Kessler,
2003).
This
study
investigates
psychological
contract
and
public
service
motivation
as
antecedents
of
organizational
commitment
using
survey
responses
from
754
civil
servants,
including
police
officers,
teachers
and
servants
working
in
Civil
Engineering
Administration.
According
to
the
results,
psychological
contract
and
public
service
motivation
could
both
explain
organizational
commitment
in
French
public
administration.
However,
depending
on
the
form
of
commitment,
public
service
motivation
and
psychological
contract
vary
in
their
predictive
power
Introduction
During
the
1990s
the
desire
to
reduce
public
expenditures
in
most
European
countries
has
led
to
a
stress
on
economy,
efficiency
and
effectiveness
in
public
organizations
that
traditionally
gave
priority
to
equality
of
treatment
and
the
application
of
administrative
law
(Chevallier,
1997).
In
France,
reform
and
change
in
employment
relationships
have
taken
place
far
more
quickly
in
public
firms
than
in
the
civil
service
(Mercier,
2000).
A
new
organic
finance
law,
called
LOLF
(2001),
is
an
example
of
the
French
Administration
giving
greater
importance
to
a
results
or
evaluation
culture
in
the
civil
service.
This
is
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
21
No.
1
Spring
2006
84
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