Is the Grass Greener? Sector Shifting and Choice of Sector by MPA and MBA Graduates

Abstract

Despite debate about distinctions among employment in the government, nonprofit, and business sectors, little research exists on the likelihood of, or barriers to, movement across sector boundaries. The authors propose and test models explaining individuals' current sector of employment-business, government, or nonprofit-and their sector-shifting behavior. They use survey data from 688 alumni of four schools: two offering MBAs and two offering MPAs. Study results indicate that most respondents have a favored sector when they graduate and remain within that sector for their employment. Results also indicate that this sector preference is influenced by perceived competence in the sectors and individuals' career values. This study shows that sector shifting is tied to sector desires and the strength of protean career orientation. The results are used to address existing claims about careers and to build understanding of influences on perceived sector competence and desires. The discussion informs employers and educators.

Organizational Control Systems and Pay-for-Performance in the Public Service

“…However, high levels of PSM are not found to be a predictor of public sector employment (Lewis & Frank, 2002). Other findings, for example, that of Tschirhart, Reed, Freeman and Anker (2008), support the idea that individuals having a preference for helping others (which is part of PSM) will selfselect into the public sector. But they do not find an effect of salary preferences in relation to sector preference.…”

Crowding Out Intrinsic Motivation in the Public Sector

“…Nevertheless, consistent with an increased emphasis in the literature on nonpecuniary job attributes as determinants of employee behavior, several studies investigate how intrinsic motivation influences individuals' decision to accept public sector employment. 3 Largely, these studies confirm that intrinsic motivation, or PSM, predicts individuals' desire to work in the public sector (Lewis and Frank 2002;Tschirhart et al 2008). For example, Lewis and Frank (2002) find that public sector employees have high levels of PSM, although its impact on choosing public sector employment is strongest for college graduates and teachers jobs than for public administration positions.…”

“…Perry (1996) proxies PSM by survey questions focusing on attraction to policy making, commitment to public interest, compassion, and self-sacrifice. Crewson (1997), Lewis and Frank (2002), and Tschirhart et al (2008) use responses to a question on the importance of ''working in a job that allows one to help other people and a job that is useful to society,'' whereas Feeney (2008) uses responses to the question about the importance of ''. .…”

“…Nevertheless, the empirical evidence on the validity of the sorting hypothesis, and whether intrinsic motivation and income are strong predictors of individuals' choice of employment between the public and the private sector, is not conclusive (Lewis and Frank 2002;Tschirhart et al 2008;Wright and Christensen 2007). This is partly because the sorting process is confounded by the possibility that income and other extrinsic rewards could crowd out intrinsic motivation, deterring individuals with high levels of intrinsic motivation from joining the public sector.…”

Prosocial Attitudes in the Public and Private Sector: Exploring Behavioral Effects and Variation Across Time

“…Lewis and Frank (2002) showed that people for whom it is important to be "useful to society" and to "help others" are more likely to want to work for the government. In accordance with this, Tschirhart et al (2008) found that MBA and MPA students, who value to have "a career that allows them to help others", also have a preference to work in the public or nonprofit sector.…”