Does Public Service Motivation Influence the College Students’ Intention to Work in the Public Sector? Evidence From Korea

Abstract

Previous studies have produced significant distinctions between public-and privatesector employees with respect to public service motivation (PSM) and PSM-related variables. Little, however, is known about whether those variables are associated with employment choice at a pre-entry level. This article will address this gap in the literature by exploring the effect of PSM on college students' sector choice in Korea. In previous research on PSM, three types of PSM measures-Perry's PSM scale, work values, and prosocial behaviors-were utilized as a PSM variable. In exploring the association between PSM and sector choice, we employed the three measures. The empirical model showed that PSM and prosocial behaviors were not associated with public-sector choice. Only job security was found to be a main reason why college students intended to enter the public sector in Korea. We will discuss the implications of our findings in this article.

Job characteristics, Public Service Motivation, and work performance in Korea

“…Most studies examining Korean government employees indicate that they choose government jobs because of the promised job security rather than out of PSM or prosocial motivation (Hahm, 2010;Kwon, 2013). Lee and Choi (2016) show that PSM and prosocial behaviors are not associated with public sector choice. Only job security was found to be a main reason why college students intended to enter the public sector in Korea.…”

“…The government has traditionally offered strong extrinsic motivators such as job security, power, prestige, career development, fringe benefits, pension, and work−family balance. A series of surveys have proven job security to be the most important motive to become a civil servant in Korea (Kwon, 2013;Lee and Choi, 2016).…”

Personal values and value congruence of public administration graduate students: An exploratory study in China

“…As argued before, various factors could influence an individual's career choice. A high level of public service motivation is not necessarily associated with the intention to work in the public service area (Lee & Choi, ). Future studies need to investigate the antecedents of public career choice in China.…”

Public Service Motivation Research: Achievements, Challenges, and Future Directions

“…As we noted earlier, some research about multiple incentives has appeared recently in economics (Banuri and Keefer ; Dal Bó, Finan, and Rossi ). Multi‐incentive studies involving public service motivation have also appeared in the Review of Public Personnel Administration (Lee and Choi ; Taylor and Taylor ). In his contribution to this symposium, Bakker () draws a connection between work engagement and public service motives as incentives working in tandem to produce important organizational outcomes.…”