Is Public Service Motivation Changeable? Integrative Modeling with Goal-Setting Theory

Discretion: Whether and How Does It Promote Street-Level Bureaucrats' Taking Charge Behavior?

“…Second, considering the positive mediating effect of PSM between discretion and TCB, as well as the fact that street-level bureaucrats with a high PSM will show strong self-supervision of their work behaviors (Weber et al, 2004 ), we suggest that public managers should select street-level bureaucrats with a high PSM (Ahmad et al, 2019 ). Alternatively, given recent research indicating that PSM is changeable (Vandenabeele, 2014 ; Ward, 2014 ; Han, 2018 ; Chen C. A. et al, 2021 ), public managers can also conduct training programs to cultivate street-level bureaucrats' PSM.…”

“…The needs for autonomy and competence are arguably important for intrinsic motivation and PSM (Corduneanu et al, 2020 ). Moreover, although previous research generally assumes PSM as a stationary and unchangeable inherent motive (Perry and Wise, 1990 ), recent research suggests that PSM can be changeable (Vandenabeele, 2014 ; Ward, 2014 ; Han, 2018 ; Chen C. A. et al, 2021 ). Discretion helps street-level bureaucrats perceive themselves as the initiators of their actions and as competent individuals in benefiting clients; thus, we argue that discretion may stimulate street-level bureaucrats' PSM and that discretion further has an indirect effect on street-level bureaucrats' TCB via PSM.…”

Reality Shock and Public Service Motivation: A Longitudinal, Qualitative Study Among Dutch Veterinary Inspectors

“…It could be argued that the mixed findings of the studies mentioned here can be attributed to different empirical contexts. Han (2016), for example, refers to goal-setting theory and argues that it is reasonable to assume that PSM can be either cultivated or suppressed by organizational institutions. This study aims to explore whether there are alternative-or at last additional-causes for different patterns in PSM dynamics, pushing individuals' PSM in different directions.…”

“…Actually, this is the approach suggested by Perry and Wise's (1990) groundbreaking definition of PSM, as it views PSM as "a predisposition to respond to motives grounded primarily or uniquely in public organizations" (p. 368). From this perspective PSM seems to reflect a trait (Han, 2018;Vogel & Kroll, 2016), which psychologists define as underlying attributes "that predispose one toward patterns of thinking and behavior that are essentially consistent over time and across situations" (Gleitman, Fidlund, & Reisberg, 2004, p. B23). The idea that PSM is unchangeable across time also fits with the continuity approach, in which certain psychological characteristics, such as motivations and identities, are expected to remain stable throughout life (Hampson & Goldberg, 2006).…”

Crowding-Out or Crowding-In? The Impact of Performance Rating on Public Service Motivation: Evidence From a Chinese Local Government

“…Compared with the wide attention granted socio-demographic factors and social institutions, the significance of organizational factors such as organizational management systems and policies in influencing levels of PSM has been largely ignored, because PSM is regarded as already inculcated by public servants' formative experiences before they start working for public organizations (R. K. Christensen et al, 2017;Perry & Wise, 1990). Some evidence suggests, however, that individual PSM indeed changes after working in the public sector (Schönherr & Thaler, 2023), and it is possible to foster public servants' PSM in government work environments (Han, 2018). To better understand this state versus trait debate, research exploring whether public managers' PSM is changeable, along with organizational characteristics, is essential (Vandenabeele, 2007).…”