This article aims to unveil how public service motivation (PSM) and organisational behaviours interact. However, an integrative framework systematising the existing knowledge in this study domain is missing. This article addresses this knowledge gap through a review of the literature.
A domain-based literature review was conducted following the SPAR-4-SLR protocol. The intellectual core included 134 scientific contributions, which were systematised in compelling research streams to unravel the intertwinement of PSM and organisational behaviours.
A multilevel framework is developed, accounting for the psychological, social, and organisational levels at which the intertwinement of PSM and public servants’ behaviours unfolds. Work meaningfulness triggers PSM, which is boosted by recognition. Mission valence and growth aspirations translate PSM into organisational citizenship behaviours. Instilling prosocial orientations, PSM curbs the ability to detach from work. Since it paves the way for work intensification, PSM may trigger overload, thus undermining the quality of the work experience.
The interplay of PSM and organisational behaviours should be carefully managed, fostering the commitment of public servants to public value generation, while dealing with potential side effects on the work experience.
Introduction and study rationale
Public servants’ feelings, thoughts, and actions at work are influenced by a unique set of mechanisms falling under the overarching label of public service motivation (PSM) (Perry and Hondeghem, 2008a). Etymologically, PSM is a compound term (Moynihan and Pandey, 2007) that couples motivation, i.e. the psychological process emboldening the direction, intensity, and perseverance of individual actions (Schmidt et al., 2003), and the public service, encompassing the wide range of value creation processes rendered for the public interest (Gozum, 2021). PSM broadly entails “[…] an individual’s predisposition to respond to motives grounded primarily or uniquely in public institutions” (Perry and Wise, 1990, p. 368), embodying “[…]altruistic intentions that motivate individuals to serve the public interest” (Bright, 2008, p. 151). Such a predisposition energises public servants to act out of self-concern and self-sacrifice to contribute to the public good (Francois, 2000). People galvanised by PSM embrace prosocial attitudes (Perry et al., 2010) and exhibit altruistic organisational behaviours (De Simone et al., 2016). Moreover, they are specifically solicited by a norm-based desire to serve the community and partake in public value generation (Brewer et al., 2000). Finally, yet importantly, they perceive a calling to attend to the public interest, which makes them rationally attracted to policy making (Vandenabeele, 2008). Drawing on these points, four main premises frame PSM (Perry, 2000):
affective factors combine with normative and rational motives, energising public servants to accomplish their tasks (Koehler and Rainey, 2008);
a logic of appropriateness rooted in self-concept imbues public servants’ actions (Shim and Park, 2019);
the function that determines organisational behaviours includes public values as an endogenous factor (Andersen et al., 2013); and
the development of such values unfolds through a social learning process (Schwarz et al., 2016).
Scholars and practitioners have paid significant attention to the interplay of PSM and organisational behaviours (Perry, 2014; Wang et al., 2023), i.e. the courses of action people follow at work (Robbins and Judge, 2017). However, limited attempts have been made to systematise the available scientific evidence on this topic (Lauritzen and Pedersen, 2022; Molines et al., 2022). Fragmentation in the scholarly debate blurs our understanding of how PSM and organisational behaviours intertwine (O’Leary, 2019; Wright and Grant, 2010). Such understanding is further undermined by the inner ambiguity, complexity and multi-facetedness characterising PSM (Bozeman and Su, 2015; Kim et al., 2013). Public servants have heterogeneous understandings of the motives that inspire public service (Brewer et al., 2000), with interpretations varying across institutional contexts and organisational settings (Rainey et al., 2021). In addition, the broad scope and long-term temporal focus of PSM make it challenging to reveal how it drives public servants’ feelings, thoughts and actions in the workplace (Schott et al., 2019).
These considerations spot a relevant knowledge gap in the scientific debate, which prevents us from conceiving appropriate management interventions to propel public servants’ desire and energy to partake in public value generation (Andersen et al., 2021; Ripoll and Ritz, 2021). Acknowledging this void in the literature, the article systematises the state of knowledge about the interplay of PSM and organisational behaviours in the public sector, connecting the dots and arranging an integrative review of the scholarly debate. In doing so, it elicits the most relevant research streams that populate this particular study domain. Such an attempt is unprecedented. Previous literature reviews targeting PSM and organisational behaviours have either embraced a synoptic view that did not aim at mapping the articulation of the scientific debate (Ritz et al., 2016) or focused on particular issues, such as leadership (Marques, 2021), organisational performance (Das, 2022), human resource management (Homberg and Vogel, 2016) and public service values (Witesman et al., 2023). Within this landscape, bibliometric approaches have only been occasionally implemented to examine the state of knowledge about PSM (e.g. Hatmaker et al., 2017). Our review is original because it leverages bibliometric tools to systematically illuminate the interplay of PSM and organisational behaviours and identify the main research paths undertaken in the scholarly literature.
Achieving an integrated understanding of the interplay between PSM and organisational behaviours is crucial, since PSM sets the ground for excellence in public service delivery (Crewson, 1997). The workplace hosted by public sector entities is a pivotal setting for investigating PSM. In fact, it directly connects people to public value generation (Wright et al., 2017), thus satisfying a fundamental need at the basis of PSM (Steijn, 2008). Embracing a person–environment fit perspective (Wightman and Christensen, 2024), people moved by PSM seek conformity with their workplace (Ryu, 2017). Perceived fit unleashes PSM and transforms it into a job resource that fosters prosocial behaviours (Bakker, 2015). However, while empirical evidence demonstrates that PSM inspires public servants by generating positive sensations with work (Bellé, 2013), its effects on how they feel, think and behave in the workplace are vague (Pandey et al., 2008). Addressing this vagueness through a domain-based literature review is necessary to systematise extant knowledge and shed light on promising avenues for further development.
The article proceeds as follows. The next section describes the protocol that was followed to identify the intellectual core of this literature review. Besides, it articulates the approach taken to screen and analyse the reviewed contributions. The third section presents the study findings, mapping the state of the scientific debate about the interplay of PSM and organisational behaviours in three research streams that account for:
the psycho-social foundations of PSM;
the organisational ground for PSM; and
the implications of PSM on organisational behaviours.
The discussion arranges the research findings in an integrative framework that provides a comprehensive overview of the interaction between PSM and organisational behaviours. The concluding section epitomises the originality of this research, arguing its original implications for theory and practice.
Methods
PSM underlies a substantive study domain (Vandenabeele, 2008), which has been argued to “[…] uniquely explain certain aspects of other-regarding human behavior” both in the public sector field and outside it (Piatak and Holt, 2020, p. 950). Previous studies have maintained the conceptual and empirical specificity of PSM in motivation theories (Breaugh et al., 2018). It concomitantly encompasses rational, moral, and affective factors that inspire organisational behaviours in light of the core values embedded in the public service (Vandenabeele et al., 2014). Such values energise public servants and orient them towards the “[…] goals of public service because they are part of the identity of certain public employees and therefore determine and justify their behavior” (Anderfuhren-Biget et al., 2010, p. 217). From this point of view, PSM is a compelling driver of individual feelings, thoughts, and actions in the workplace hosted by public sector entities (Holt and Piatak, 2023).
Coherently with these arguments, a domain-based approach was taken to realise this literature review, which was specifically aimed at systematising the state of scientific knowledge about the interplay of PSM and organisational behaviours. Domain-based literature reviews are distinctive compared to theoretical and methodological-based reviews of the literature in that they concentrate on a specific topic, targeting the integration of available evidence and the development of a comprehensive framework to advance scholarly understanding about it (Palmatier et al., 2018). A hybrid methodological approach has been taken to address the purpose of this article (Paul and Criado, 2020). A bibliometric analysis enabled us to map the articulation of the current body of knowledge about the study domain in research streams and discover the main themes addressed within and across them. Then, an interpretive, systematic literature review has been implemented to synthesise the extant scholarly debate within an integrated framework. This methodological choice resonates with previous studies populating the public management field, with bibliometric analysis serving as a powerful tool to pave the way for a robust and compelling review of scientific knowledge (Palumbo et al., 2024).
We followed a robust and replicable protocol to conduct this literature review. More specifically, the Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews (SPAR-4-SLR) were followed, corroborating the study design and facilitating its replicability (Paul et al., 2021). The SPAR-4-SLR was preferred to other protocols – e.g. the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and the Protocol-Search-Appraisal-Synthesis-Analysis-Report (PSALSAR) – since it has been specifically designed for social sciences. Its articulation in three sub-steps – i.e. assembling, arranging, and assessing – fostered a rational and dependable screening of scientific contributions to obtain relevant evidence about our study domain (Lim et al., 2022). The study protocol is described below and graphically depicted in Figure 1, which uses a flowchart to display the items’ collection and screening process.
The flow diagram outlines the process of a literature review on public service motivation. The query was performed on July 15 2023, searching three sources, Dimensions using title search, Scopus using title, abstract, and keywords, and Web of Science using topic search, producing 3,489 items. After removing 1,334 duplicated items and 1,204 items removed after preliminary screening, 951 items remained. Of these, 650 were removed after the first stage screening at the abstract level and 167 were removed after the first stage screening at the full text level, leaving 134 items. These were then assessed and grouped into three clusters, with the Red Cluster containing 65 items, the Blue Cluster containing 45 items, and the Green Cluster containing 24 items. The process is structured under three headings, Assemble, Arrange, and Assess, showing how the items were reduced and categorised step by step.A graphical representation of the study protocol
Source: Author’s own work
The flow diagram outlines the process of a literature review on public service motivation. The query was performed on July 15 2023, searching three sources, Dimensions using title search, Scopus using title, abstract, and keywords, and Web of Science using topic search, producing 3,489 items. After removing 1,334 duplicated items and 1,204 items removed after preliminary screening, 951 items remained. Of these, 650 were removed after the first stage screening at the abstract level and 167 were removed after the first stage screening at the full text level, leaving 134 items. These were then assessed and grouped into three clusters, with the Red Cluster containing 65 items, the Blue Cluster containing 45 items, and the Green Cluster containing 24 items. The process is structured under three headings, Assemble, Arrange, and Assess, showing how the items were reduced and categorised step by step.A graphical representation of the study protocol
Source: Author’s own work
The assembling stage aimed at acquiring relevant contributions for potential inclusion in this literature review. It consisted of two steps. First, the search strategy for building the initial data set was determined. The search strategy adhered to two overarching criteria:
comprehensiveness (e.g. reducing the risk of overlooking relevant contributions substantiating the study domain); and
parsimoniousness (e.g. avoiding a broad search approach that did not fit the scope of this review).
A single search string focused on “public service motivation” was crafted. Germane concepts such as altruism (Bozeman and Su, 2015), public service ethos (Vandenabeele and Van de Walle, 2008) and public service identity (Bednarczuk, 2018) were not included in the search string to maintain the spotlight on PSM as a substantive and distinctive study domain. Since we were interested in the interplay of PSM and organisational behaviours, we decided to keep our search strategy as focused as possible. This enabled us to specifically contemplate the evolving scholarly debate about PSM, reducing the risk of contamination from other study domains that do not mirror the specificity of PSM (Momand et al., 2024). The asterisk (*) was used to account for potential variations of the PSM concept. In summary, the search string run to collect relevant items was.
[“public service motiv*”]
Next, the source for accessing relevant contributions was identified. Following scholarly recommendations (Martín-Martín et al., 2021), different citation databases were queried to acquire items. The search string was run in:
Dimensions.ai, where the target was put on the items’ title and abstract;
Scopus, where occurrences in title, abstract and keywords were searched; and
Web of Science (WoS), where the items’ topics were queried.
The conjoined use of these databases enabled a thorough and comprehensive coverage of our study domain, enabling a widespread scanning of the current scholarly debate (Singh et al., 2021). Other sources, such as Google Scholar, were not queried, since they did not allow us to undertake a systematised approach to retrieve relevant items to investigate our study domain. Limitations related to the manuscript type or publication time were not introduced to be as comprehensive as possible in reviewing the scholarly knowledge. The query was conducted on 15 July 2023, and generated 3,489 occurrences (1,361 obtained from Dimensions, 998 from Scopus and 1,130 from WoS). The items were gathered in an electronic worksheet to realise a preliminary screening. Altogether, 1,334 duplicated items – i.e. records that were retrieved in more than one database – were removed. Also, records that did not undergo the peer-review rule (e.g. commentaries and editorials), articles issued by predatory publishers, items listing PSM as a keyword but not focusing on it, and contributions published in languages other than English were excluded. Based on these criteria, 1,204 records were discarded. In summary, 951 contributions were passed on to the arranging stage.
In the second step of the study protocol, the criteria for purifying the data set were defined. Three exclusion criteria were followed to remove contributions that were inconsistent with the study aims, i.e. shedding light on the interplay of PSM and organisational behaviours of public servants. First, the records that did not contextualise PSM in the public sector were considered “off-topic”. This permitted us to frame our literature review in the public realm only. Second, the items that did not investigate PSM as an organisational phenomenon but primarily looked at it as a driver of employment decisions were removed as “off-scope”. Our desire to focus on people already used in the public sector justified such a decision, illuminating how PSM shapes their feelings, emotions and actions. Finally, the contributions that did not deal with the drivers, characteristics and implications of PSM and addressed it as a situational factor were discarded as “off-focus”. The arranging stage was articulated in two moments. At the beginning, the screening concerned the abstracts of retrieved contributions, resulting in the withdrawal of 650 records. The remaining 301 items were admitted to the second screening, which regarded the full texts. Based on the exclusion criteria depicted above, 167 records were removed. Hence, the core of this literature review consisted of 134 contributions.
The final stage involved assessing the items admitted in this literature review and crafting the study findings report. A bibliometric analysis was conducted to organise the intellectual core into research streams articulating the scholarly debate. Bibliographic coupling, which is based on the assumption that “[…] if two papers show similar bibliographies, there is an implied relation between them” (Kessler, 1965, p. 223), was used as the aggregation mechanism. Records presenting high levels of similarity between their reference lists are assumed to share the same intellectual environment, establishing a research stream (Weinberg, 1974). Drawing on Van Eck and Waltman (2010), the visualisation of similarities technique was run to identify such research streams. It locates reviewed items in a two-dimensional map based on their similarity. The minimum link strength was set at 100 to retrieve thick and consistent research streams. Clusters consisting of at least 10 items were allowed. The resolution of bibliographic coupling was kept at one. An interpretive approach based on a non-standardised, narrative and interpretive reporting structure was used to elaborate the study findings (Tranfield et al., 2003). Open manual coding was used to frame the items in each research stream and track the antecedents, mechanisms and outcomes depicting the interplay of PSM and organisational behaviours. Axial manual coding was introduced to delineate connections and make sense of relations across different research streams. The study findings report follows, starting with an overview of the intellectual core and proceeding with an interpretive account of the research streams articulating our study domain.
Findings
An overview of the intellectual core
Supplementary material lists the reviewed items, describing their study design and key results. Figure 2 displays their publication years, which ranged between 2001 and 2023. About 4 in 10 contributions (41%) have been published in the last five-year time window contemplated in this research. Only 1 in 10 were issued before 2010 (11.2%). These figures confirm the study domain’s timeliness and topicality. All reviewed items were published in international journals adhering to the double-blind peer review rule. Altogether, 28 different journals hosted the contributions included in this review. About two in three articles were published in seven journals (66.4%), i.e. the American Review of Public Administration, the International Public Management Journal, Public Administration, Public Administration Review, Public Management Review, Public Personnel Management and the Review of Public Personnel Administration.
The image is a line graph representing data spanning from the year 2001 to 2023. The horizontal axis indicates the years, while the vertical axis denotes numerical values, ranging from 0 to 16, with increments of 2. The line shows a series of fluctuating points, reflecting variations in the data across the years, with notable peaks and troughs at different intervals, notably in 2006 and 2015. The overall trend illustrates the rise and fall of values, culminating in a recent stabilisation in the years 2022 and 2023.The reviewed items’ distribution per publication year
Source: Author’s own work
The image is a line graph representing data spanning from the year 2001 to 2023. The horizontal axis indicates the years, while the vertical axis denotes numerical values, ranging from 0 to 16, with increments of 2. The line shows a series of fluctuating points, reflecting variations in the data across the years, with notable peaks and troughs at different intervals, notably in 2006 and 2015. The overall trend illustrates the rise and fall of values, culminating in a recent stabilisation in the years 2022 and 2023.The reviewed items’ distribution per publication year
Source: Author’s own work
The majority of reviewed items reported the results of empirical quantitative research (86.6%). Qualitative (5.2%) and experimental studies (3%) followed, with only two articles implementing a mixed methodology. Conceptual advancements were a limited portion of the intellectual core (3.7%). Empirical studies were contextualised in different world areas, coherently with the international relevance of the study domain. The USA covered many scholarly contributions (31.5%). Asia significantly contributed to the scientific debate about PSM and organisational behaviours (31.5%), with Taiwan (9.5%) and China (8.7%) representing the most active countries in this continent. European nations accounted for about 3 in 10 empirical studies (29.1%). South America (3.5%), the Middle East (2.4%) and Australia (1.6%) were relatively underrepresented in the intellectual core. Only one empirical study was set in Africa.
Figure 3 displays the results of bibliographic coupling, which was run on the full data set of reviewed items (n = 134). We obtained three clusters, encapsulating the research streams through which the scholarly debate unfolds. Table 1 delivers a rapid overview of the topics within each cluster, introducing the report of the study findings.
An overview of the research streams
| Cluster | Label | No. of items | Range of publication years | Main theme(s) addressed | Key references |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green cluster | The psycho-social ground nurturing PSM | 45 | 2001/2022 | PSM takes its roots in intangible motives and is established in a sense of calling. Transformational leadership is crucial to make public servants aware of their contribution to public value generation, fostering PSM. The more public servants are involved and engaged at work, the more they are motivated. Highly motivated public servants are willing to endorse public values. Work meaningfulness ensues, keeping public servants committed to public value generation | Giauque et al. (2013b), Ritz et al. (2014), Stazyk (2013), Stritch and Christensen (2016), Vandenabeele (2014) |
| Red cluster | The organisational ground for PSM | 65 | 2015/2023 | Organisational identification and work engagement nurture mission valence, which is a PSM precondition. Servant leadership facilitates the diffusion of mission valence, soliciting public servants to reciprocate leaders’ actions. Besides, it encourages the accomplishment of organisational citizenship behaviours. Highly motivated public servants perceive a sense of community responsibility, which anticipates psychological empowerment. They are emotionally committed to work, dedicating energy and resources to organisational dynamics | Breaugh et al. (2022), Klatt and Fairholm (2023), Lim et al. (2022), Piatak and Holt (2020), Schönherr and Thaler (2023) |
| Blue cluster | The implications of PSM on organisational dynamics | 24 | 2011/2023 | Highly motivated public servants are willing to undertake appropriate in-role and extra-role behaviours, which drive organisational performance. Those who do not have high PSM stick to a minimum effort/best output mentality. PSM builds self-efficacy at the individual level and social capital at the relational level, nurturing the public servants’ desire to partake in organisational processes. On the one hand, PSM unleashes job resources. On the other hand, it buffers job challenges and demands. Although this determines increased performance, it might have side effects on work-related stress | Caillier (2015), Giauque et al. (2012), Liu and Tang (2011), Thuy and Phinaitrup (2023), Van Loon et al. (2017) |
The image presents a network diagram illustrating connections among multiple authors and their research papers, with nodes representing each author and their corresponding works. The nodes are categorised into three distinct clusters identified by different colours. The green cluster represents the psycho social ground for public service motivation, P S M, while the red cluster signifies the organisational ground for P S M. The blue cluster highlights the implications of P S M on organisational dynamics. Authors' names appear near their respective nodes, with connecting lines indicating relationships between various authors and papers. The layout is structured to facilitate the visualisation of connections, with denser areas indicating higher concentrations of related work. The clarity of the connections and clusters enables the viewer to discern the overarching themes present in the research.The outcome of bibliographic coupling
Note(s): Green cluster: the psycho-social ground for PSM; red cluster: the organisational ground for PSM; blue cluster: the implications of PSM on organisational dynamics
Source: Author’s own work
The image presents a network diagram illustrating connections among multiple authors and their research papers, with nodes representing each author and their corresponding works. The nodes are categorised into three distinct clusters identified by different colours. The green cluster represents the psycho social ground for public service motivation, P S M, while the red cluster signifies the organisational ground for P S M. The blue cluster highlights the implications of P S M on organisational dynamics. Authors' names appear near their respective nodes, with connecting lines indicating relationships between various authors and papers. The layout is structured to facilitate the visualisation of connections, with denser areas indicating higher concentrations of related work. The clarity of the connections and clusters enables the viewer to discern the overarching themes present in the research.The outcome of bibliographic coupling
Note(s): Green cluster: the psycho-social ground for PSM; red cluster: the organisational ground for PSM; blue cluster: the implications of PSM on organisational dynamics
Source: Author’s own work
The green cluster: the psycho-social ground nurturing PSM
The green cluster included 45 articles published between 2001 and 2022. An additional round of bibliographic coupling was run to delve into the themes addressed in this cluster, which was further articulated into three substreams, as graphically depicted in Figure 4. The dark green subcluster upholds the intrinsicality of PSM. Even though it is not meant as a substitute for material compensation, PSM is established on meaningfulness and empowerment, enabling public servants to acknowledge the relevance and impact of their contribution to organisational dynamics. This energises them to stay committed at work. The cyan subcluster unveils that transformational leadership is especially fit with PSM. Transformational leaders endorse the followers’ organisational identification. Public servants interacting with transformational leaders are willing to reciprocate their behaviours, experiencing enthusiasm and dedication, which further corroborates organisational commitment. The yellow subcluster delves into the relationship between values and PSM, pointing out that the former enshrines the latter. PSM is nourished by a sense of calling, which inspires public servants to self-sacrifice and commit to public value generation. Bureaucratic settings frustrated by red tape prevent public servants from embodying this sense of calling, impoverishing PSM. On the contrary, engaging work settings trigger involvement and identification, committing public servants to public value generation.
The image depicts a network diagram with interconnected nodes, each labelled with the names of authors followed by the year of their publication. The diagram is divided into three distinct colour coded subclusters, dark green, cyan, and yellow, each representing unique themes related to public service management, P S M. The dark green subcluster focuses on the intrinsic aspects of P S M, the cyan subcluster explores P S M through transformational leadership, and the yellow subcluster covers the interplay between public values and P S M. Larger nodes indicate more influential or frequently referenced works, while lines connect related nodes, illustrating how different authors and their work intersect within these themes. The layout is expansive, with text positioned throughout the network, allowing for a visual representation of relationships within the academic discourse.The substreams of the green cluster: the psycho-social ground for PSM
Note(s): Dark green subcluster: the intrinsicality of PSM; cyan subcluster: embodying PSM through transformational leadership; yellow subcluster: the interplay of public values and PSM
Source: Author’s own work
The image depicts a network diagram with interconnected nodes, each labelled with the names of authors followed by the year of their publication. The diagram is divided into three distinct colour coded subclusters, dark green, cyan, and yellow, each representing unique themes related to public service management, P S M. The dark green subcluster focuses on the intrinsic aspects of P S M, the cyan subcluster explores P S M through transformational leadership, and the yellow subcluster covers the interplay between public values and P S M. Larger nodes indicate more influential or frequently referenced works, while lines connect related nodes, illustrating how different authors and their work intersect within these themes. The layout is expansive, with text positioned throughout the network, allowing for a visual representation of relationships within the academic discourse.The substreams of the green cluster: the psycho-social ground for PSM
Note(s): Dark green subcluster: the intrinsicality of PSM; cyan subcluster: embodying PSM through transformational leadership; yellow subcluster: the interplay of public values and PSM
Source: Author’s own work
The dark green subcluster: the intrinsicality of PSM.
People who possess strong PSM attach salience to intangible rewards, looking for meaningfulness, recognition and growth at work (Bright, 2009). This does not mean that PSM crowds out the motivating power of material incentives (Alonso and Lewis, 2001). Rather, it reshapes priorities (Lee, 2019), curbing – without waiving – the implications of extrinsic motivation factor on public servants’ decisions and behaviours (Ki, 2022). Awareness of the individual contribution to organisational success underpins PSM (Stazyk, 2013), paving the way for organisational commitment (Taylor, 2007). Conversely, PSM is hampered when doubts are cast on public servants’ ability to partake in public value generation (Jahan and Shahan, 2012).
PSM requires favourable conditions to flourish, relying on public servants’ perceived organisational effectiveness (Boardman and Sundquist, 2009). Unequivocal management decisions and job clarity are conducive to a positive work atmosphere, which makes public servants aware of public sector entities’ ability to address the needs of the community and generate public value (Camilleri, 2007). Sound employee–manager exchanges reduce bureaucratic burdens and stimulate public servants to envision avenues for organisational improvement, aggrandising their contribution to public value generation (Ritz, 2009). This enacts a positive psycho-social ground for PSM, boosting the public servants’ desire to actively participate in organisational dynamics (Moynihan and Pandey, 2007). Public servants are galvanised when direct supervisors sustain the meaningfulness of their work (Wright, 2007) and support them to expand their area of action, achieving greater responsibility to advance organisational performance (Song et al., 2017).
From this point of view, empowering leadership styles play a central role in substantiating PSM (Park and Rainey, 2008). Empowering leaders support the socialisation of PSM (Jacobson, 2011) and compel organisational citizenship behaviours (Pandey et al., 2008). They nurture the internalisation of strategic goals pursued by public sector entities by emphasising their coherence with the rational, affective and normative motives that inspire public servants (Paarlberg and Perry, 2007). Also, they facilitate the congruence of organisational and individual values, making public servants more energetic and dedicated to accomplishing their tasks (Wright and Pandey, 2008).
The cyan subcluster: embodying PSM through transformational leadership.
Transformational leaders embody public service values and foster the transmission of PSM to their followers (Ritz et al., 2014). The implications of transformational leadership on organisational behaviours are twofold. First, it prompts organisational identification and sets the ground for public value internalisation and rule compliance (Lee and Lee, 2022). Second, it induces followers to reciprocate leaders’ behaviours, unleashing PSM (Paarlberg and Lavigna, 2010). Public servants interacting with transformational leaders act as stewards of public values (Stritch and Christensen, 2016) and are more willing to undertake actions that are conducive to sustained public value generation (Battaglio and Gelgec, 2017).
Putting the public service identity at the centre of the work experience, transformational leaders enact psychological contract fulfilment and propel energy, dedication and passion in the workplace (Castaing, 2006). They activate a work climate of cohesion and integrity, enhancing individual and collective pledges to public value (Im et al., 2016). By stimulating work meaningfulness and engagement (Kim et al., 2015), transformational leaders ignite altruism and augment the public servants’ desire to contribute to organisational success (Kim, 2006), thus making organisational citizenship behaviours the norm in the workplace (Shim and Faerman, 2017). Alongside prompting public servants to accommodate organisational dynamics (Wright et al., 2013) and corroborate organisational performance (Qi and Wang, 2018), transformational leadership encourages the transposition of individual public service identity outside the boundaries of the public sector, triggering civic engagement behaviours in the community (Mendez and Avellaneda, 2023).
The yellow subcluster: the interplay of public values and PSM.
Although PSM and public values are interwoven, it is hard to unravel their interplay (Andersen et al., 2013). Scholars argue that people attaching “[…] greater importance to self-regulation on the basis of moral obligations” are particularly energised by PSM (Anderfuhren-Biget, 2012, p. 14). Public servants with strong PSM undertake more challenging and less lucrative tasks, provided that they substantially impact the community (Bøgh Andersen and Serritzlew, 2012). This is consistent with the assumption that PSM brings a recalibration of perceived values that downgrade the importance of tangible rewards and aggrandise the salience of immaterial factors (Anderfuhren-Biget et al., 2010).
Coherently with these arguments, a rigid institutional framework rooted in the conventional legal-bureaucratic logic of public management does not facilitate PSM (Meyer et al., 2014). Actually, motivation stems from the compatibility between individual and organisational values (De Simone et al., 2016), which heralds person–organisation fit (Leisink and Steijn, 2009). In such circumstances, the public servants’ psycho-social needs for meaningfulness, identity and impact are satisfied (Vandenabeele, 2014). This is especially true for less professionalised jobs, where values are rooted in affective motives, rather than in normative or rational premises (Stazyk and Davis, 2015). From this standpoint, the importance of the work environment in moulding PSM is highlighted. Traditional civil service settings fail to propel motivation (Battaglio and French, 2016), while those imbued with job enrichment, employee engagement and organisational justice enhance PSM (Giauque et al., 2013b), determining a sense of personal and psychological identification with the public service (Lee et al., 2020). Experiencing a work atmosphere infused with interpersonal trust, high involvement and collaboration increases PSM (Chen et al., 2014). In such a context, public servants envision personal and professional development perspectives, which underpin greater opportunities to contribute to public value generation, enacting a self-nurturing dynamic of PSM (French and Emerson, 2015).
The red cluster: the organisational ground for PSM
The red cluster included 65 items published between 2015 and 2023. We run a further round of bibliographic coupling to elicit its substreams, which are portrayed in Figure 5. The dark red subcluster postulates that organisational identification and psychological empowerment enact mission valence, triggering PSM. Mission valence transposes organisational values into individual motives, boosting public value generation. This is especially true when the feelings of self-sacrifice and compassion that build PSM are embedded in the work setting. A leader–member fit is vital to unleashing PSM and sustaining organisational commitment. The orange subcluster upholds these arguments, claiming that PSM is more about the context than the individual. It stems from person–organisation fit, which arises in contexts filled with relatedness and empowerment. The pink cluster epitomises these points, stressing that PSM drives public servants’ engagement, releasing job resources and buffering job demands.
The image shows a detailed network diagram illustrating relationships between various authors and their publications related to public sector management. Nodes are sized according to significance, with prominent connections indicating collaborative or cited works. The nodes are clustered by thematic areas represented in different colours, dark red indicates sustaining public sector management through organisational identity and empowerment, orange signifies nurturing public sector management through ethics and integrity, and pink highlights strengthening public sector management through emotional engagement. The layout demonstrates a flowing network structure, with connections radiating from central figures, creating an intricate web of academic contributions. Each author's name is displayed near their corresponding node, providing insight into their publications, some of which are repeated within the groupings.The substreams of the red cluster
Note(s): Dark red subcluster: sustaining PSM through organisational identity and empowerment; Orange subcluster: nurturing PSM through ethics and integrity; Pink subcluster: strengthening PSM through emotional engagement
Source: Author’s own work
The image shows a detailed network diagram illustrating relationships between various authors and their publications related to public sector management. Nodes are sized according to significance, with prominent connections indicating collaborative or cited works. The nodes are clustered by thematic areas represented in different colours, dark red indicates sustaining public sector management through organisational identity and empowerment, orange signifies nurturing public sector management through ethics and integrity, and pink highlights strengthening public sector management through emotional engagement. The layout demonstrates a flowing network structure, with connections radiating from central figures, creating an intricate web of academic contributions. Each author's name is displayed near their corresponding node, providing insight into their publications, some of which are repeated within the groupings.The substreams of the red cluster
Note(s): Dark red subcluster: sustaining PSM through organisational identity and empowerment; Orange subcluster: nurturing PSM through ethics and integrity; Pink subcluster: strengthening PSM through emotional engagement
Source: Author’s own work
The dark red subcluster: sustaining PSM through organisational identity and empowerment.
The implications of PSM on organisational dynamics depend on two factors (Vogel and Homberg, 2021). Organisational identification nourishes the desire to contribute to public value generation, thus intensifying PSM (Miao et al., 2019). Besides, employee empowerment fosters PSM, committing public servants to action (Lim et al., 2022). Combining organisational identity and employee empowerment activates mission valence, which translates organisational values into personal motives (Desmidt and Prinzie, 2019). By leveraging meaning and impact, this creates enthusiasm and drives positive organisational behaviours (Miao et al., 2018). Public servants with high PSM are prone to take charge behaviours at work (Homberg et al., 2019) and outside of work (Tsai et al., 2016). Focusing on creating value for and with citizens (Campbell and Im, 2016), highly motivated public servants are less likely to blame others when they experience stressful work conditions and self-sacrifice to overcome job challenges (Davis et al., 2021).
The positive effects triggered by PSM on organisational behaviours are more prominent when public managers fully comply with the public ethics (Potipiroon and Ford, 2017). Managers exemplifying the organisational mission galvanise public servants (Andersen et al., 2018) and generate sensations of fulfilment at work (Bland et al., 2023). Positive work attitudes ensue (Chen et al., 2023), paving the way for organisational citizenship behaviours (Piatak and Holt, 2020). This is especially true when public managers embrace a servant leadership style (Liu et al., 2018). Serving others, public managers lead by example and altruism (Vuong, 2023). Altruistic behaviours propagate to followers (Schwarz et al., 2016), creating a positive work climate (Shim and Park, 2019) and stimulating public servants’ dedication to aggrandise their impact on public value generation (Nguyen et al., 2023).
Managers who capitalise on agreeableness, extraversion and consciousness (Schönherr and Thaler, 2023) satisfy the public servants’ needs for competence, relatedness and autonomy (Jensen and Bro, 2018). Leaders who are follower-oriented, loyal, accountable and rule-following are particularly effective in motivating public servants (Schwarz et al., 2020). They produce a sense of community responsibility and compel public servants to do more (Pedersen et al., 2020). Leader–member fit facilitates value congruence, allowing public servants to cope with goal ambiguity (Kim et al., 2023) and develop PSM (Danaeefard et al., 2022). In such circumstances, public servants overcome issues related to emotional exhaustion (Potipiroon, 2023) and act as stewards of public resources (Yu, 2023). However, PSM reduces the ability to detach from work and generates risks of overload (Zheng et al., 2020). This is especially dangerous when highly motivated public servants experience a hostile work environment. Due to their commitment to public value, they are willing to withstand unfair work practices and are unable to withdraw when challenging work conditions are experienced (Potipiroon and Faerman, 2016).
The orange subcluster: nurturing PSM through ethics and integrity.
Being rooted in a public service calling that rejects self-interest (Hsieh, 2018), PSM is both about the individual and the context (Vogel, 2022). More specifically, it takes root in work settings that prioritise relatedness (Ripoll and Rode, 2022) and empower public servants to establish a direct dialogue with the community (Prysmakova, 2021). Public servants with high PSM benefit from reciprocity (Luu, 2018) and acknowledge the importance of their activities for public value generation (Chen et al., 2021). Feelings of empowerment and participation further underpin person–organisation fit (Teo et al., 2016), stimulating public servants to exploit organisational identification to enhance their impact on public value generation (Breaugh et al., 2022).
Fair work practices enhance the implications of PSM on organisational dynamics (Wright et al., 2016). Conversely, organisational injustice erodes positive sensations with work, curtailing PSM (Wang and Seifert, 2020) and provoking job dissatisfaction (Breaugh et al., 2018). Although inconsistent evidence is reported in the reviewed literature (Awan et al., 2020), PSM itself adds to workplace fairness (Tavares et al., 2021). Public servants who report high PSM are less tolerant of unfair behaviours (Ripoll and Breaugh, 2019) and more willing to behave ethically (Qin, 2022). They self-sacrifice to partake in public value generation, avoiding defensive behaviours oriented towards self-interest (Schäfer et al., 2023). Therefore, they are prone to sabotage policies and management decisions that are not conducive to public value generation (Schuster et al., 2022). They blow the whistle when noticing wrongdoings and misdemeanours in the workplace (Meyer-Sahling et al., 2019). Besides, PSM legitimises prosocial rule-breaking behaviours, as far as they have direct implications for the community (Weißmüller et al., 2022). Finally, PSM drives knowledge sharing (Chen and Hsieh, 2015), creating rational and affective stimuli to build a cohesive organisational climate (Kim, 2018).
The pink subcluster: strengthening PSM through emotional engagement.
PSM prompts people to “[…] mobilize their job resources in order to stay engaged” at work (Bakker, 2015, p. 730). Public sector entities overcoming issues related to red tape (Cooke et al., 2019) and embracing a people-centred orientation boost PSM and keep public servants committed in the workplace (Klatt and Fairholm, 2023). Engagement is nurtured by sensations of affectivity at work. This is typical of public sector entities involved in the design and delivery of people-changing services, where tasks are non-routinary and value originates from direct and continuous exchanges with citizens (Borst, 2018). In this peculiar setting, public servants appreciate the prosocial impact of their job, which energises them regardless of material incentives (Bashir et al., 2023). The sense of community responsibility triggered by PSM (Boyd and Nowell, 2020) makes public servants concerned about how the organisation contributes to the well-being of the community (Bright, 2022), leading to an engagement driven by emotions (Levitats and Vigoda-Gadot, 2020).
Alongside engaging people (Ugaddan and Park, 2017), PSM is a buffering factor, enabling public servants to successfully cope with job demands (Potipiroon and Faerman, 2020). This makes them less affected by work-related pressures (Mussagulova, 2021) and more dedicated to accomplishing their tasks (Gross et al., 2019). The energy to overcome job demands is nurtured by work meaningfulness (Vinarski Peretz, 2020) and positive exchanges with peers and supervisors (Shim et al., 2021). However, it is undermined by organisational conflicts and clashes, which determine negative sensations and prevent public servants from leveraging PSM to develop emotional engagement (Davis et al., 2020).
The blue cluster: the implications of PSM on organisational dynamics
The blue cluster included 24 items published between 2011 and 2023. It reiterates that PSM permeates organisational dynamics, surpassing the motivating power of tangible incentives (Huang, 2019). From this standpoint, human resource management practices that rely on intrinsic compensation advance PSM (Giauque et al., 2015), facilitating need-supply fit (Liu et al., 2015), empowering public servants to thrive amidst work-related pressures and enabling them to cope with job challenges (Quratulain and Khan, 2015a). Thuy and Phinaitrup (2023) articulated the implications of PSM on organisational dynamics in two ramifications. On the one hand, PSM makes people feel more compatible with public sector entities, building self-efficacy at work (Bright, 2013). On the other hand, it corroborates social exchanges, advancing interpersonal relationships in the workplace and fostering the public servants’ desire to contribute to organisational performance (Choi, 2016).
Although problems related to common method bias make evidence about the implications of PSM on organisational dynamics not entirely reliable (Petrovsky and Ritz, 2014), previous research emphasised that PSM induces positive work attitudes that inspire pro-organisational behaviours (Liu and Perry, 2016). Public servants with high PSM thoroughly stick to their expected in-role behaviours, meeting standards in accomplishing their tasks (Van Loon et al., 2017). Furthermore, they consistently engage in extra-role behaviours, using relational and cognitive job crafting to extend their space of action (Caillier, 2015). On the contrary, people with limited PSM adhere to a “[…] steel rice bowl” mentality based on the “best output for the minimum effort” rule (Liu and Tang, 2011, p. 723). Beyond infusing organisational commitment (Caillier, 2016), work settings permeated by PSM induce public servants to embrace helping behaviours (Karolidis and Vouzas, 2019) and learn from others (Ki, 2021). This endorses organisational commitment, making people dedicated to public value generation (Caillier, 2017).
Mostafa and Leon-Cazares (2016) further elaborate on these points. They maintain that PSM improves organisational dynamics by activating organisational citizenship behaviours (Gould-Williams et al., 2015). PSM expands the scope of individual work, adding to organisational identification (Taylor, 2014). However, previous studies showed that public servants with high PSM “[…] may perceive that they are under pressure to meet more demanding deadlines regardless of the nature of their jobs” (Gould‐Williams et al., 2014, p. 950). Consequently, they are particularly vulnerable to work-related stress (Giauque et al., 2013a). Drawbacks on well-being follow, with dedication and self-sacrifice setting the ground for increased risks of burnout (Van Loon et al., 2015). Such side effects associated with PSM are especially harmful when public servants operate in settings where self-determination is hampered by red tape (Quratulain and Khan, 2015b). This situation generates feelings of resignation, which are corroborated by organisational rigidity (Giauque et al., 2012).
Discussion
An integrative systematisation of the study findings
Figure 6 arranges the study findings in an integrative framework, which depicts the intertwinement of PSM and organisational behaviours in the workplace hosted by public sector entities. In line with the conceptual and empirical perspectives taken across the three research streams which were identified in this literature review, a multilevel approach is embraced to highlight the interplay of PSM and public servants’ feelings, thoughts and actions from a psychological, social and organisational perspective.
This conceptual diagram presents the relationships between public service motivation, P S M, and various influencing factors across three levels, the psychological, organisational, and social. The diagram showcases interconnected elements, including organisational commitment, job satisfaction, and perceived scope. There are direct arrows emphasising relationships between concepts, such as the impact of role clarity and self efficacy. A diamond shape in the centre represents P S M and growth, while additional factors like transformational leadership and recognition are positioned on the peripheries. The visual structure organises these elements into overlapping sections, signifying their interplay and interdependence. Annotations and directional arrows illustrate the connections, enhancing the overall comprehension of the model complexity without incorporating specific colour descriptions.An integrative overview of the study findings
Source: Author’s own work
This conceptual diagram presents the relationships between public service motivation, P S M, and various influencing factors across three levels, the psychological, organisational, and social. The diagram showcases interconnected elements, including organisational commitment, job satisfaction, and perceived scope. There are direct arrows emphasising relationships between concepts, such as the impact of role clarity and self efficacy. A diamond shape in the centre represents P S M and growth, while additional factors like transformational leadership and recognition are positioned on the peripheries. The visual structure organises these elements into overlapping sections, signifying their interplay and interdependence. Annotations and directional arrows illustrate the connections, enhancing the overall comprehension of the model complexity without incorporating specific colour descriptions.An integrative overview of the study findings
Source: Author’s own work
Although PSM originates from personal values that enact a tendency to respond to motives that are entrenched in the public sector (Choi and Cho, 2025), it is profoundly shaped by the public servants’ work experience and the particular emotions they are exposed to in the workplace (Davis et al., 2020; Yang et al., 2024). PSM takes root in job meaningfulness and is fostered by the acknowledgement of the scope and magnitude of the personal contribution to public value generation (Vinarski Peretz, 2020). While role ambiguity prevents public servants from making sense of their work, role clarity spawns meaningfulness in the workplace, unleashing the energising power of PSM (Perry, 2021). When they perceive role clarity, public servants are more likely to experience person–job fit, which augments the positive sensations with person–organisation fit, nurtures self-efficacy and braces sensemaking of organisational dynamics in the public sector (Prysmakova, 2021).
PSM cannot be leveraged if the public servants’ needs for recognition and acknowledgement are not satisfied at the social level (Li et al., 2021). PSM unfolds from a sense of calling and is embedded in feelings of compassion, self-sacrifice and commitment to the public interest (Boyd and Nowell, 2020). Extrinsic incentives do not fit such feelings. Rather, intangible rewards and interpersonal fairness satisfy the desire for recognition attached to PSM, setting the conditions for positive social exchanges at work (Ki, 2022). Appropriate leadership styles are required for this purpose (Ritz et al., 2014). On the one hand, transformational leadership emphasises public servants’ empowerment and involvement, increasing the appreciation of intangible rewards. On the other hand, servant leadership enables managers to embody public values, fostering sensations of fairness at work and prompting public servants to reciprocate leaders’ attitudes and actions (Paarlberg and Lavigna, 2010). Positive leader–member exchanges enacted by such leadership styles determine need–supply fit and fulfil the psychological contract established by public servants with the organisation, addressing their desire for recognition at work (Kroll and Vogel, 2014).
At the organisational level, PSM is driven by aspirations for professional growth, as well as by intrinsic opportunities (Bright, 2009). Perspectives for career advancement energise public servants, incentivising them to commit energies and resources to public value generation and sustaining their organisational commitment (Wang et al., 2024). This is especially true when public servants perceive mission valence, i.e. when they endorse the institutional aim of the organisation and are dedicated to accomplishing it (Wright et al., 2012). Mission valence is set on two conditions. First, it relies on the public servants’ identification with the organisation, which is heightened by job-person fit. Second, it is nourished by public servants’ absorption, dedication and vigour, which are solicited by the need–supply fit (Perry and Hondeghem, 2008b). The blend of organisational identification and work engagement sparks mission valence and strengthens person–organisation fit, provoking the desire to grow within the organisation (Liu et al., 2015).
Satisfying the need for meaningfulness, recognition and growth paves the way for PSM, affecting public servants’ attitudes and behaviours at work. Highly motivated public servants are more enthusiastic to be organisational citizens (Kim, 2006). Moreover, they act as stewards of public values (Hsu and Zhang, 2025). They pursue in-role behaviours to meet internal and external expectations in accomplishing their jobs; besides, they undertake extra-role behaviours, helping others and crafting individual assignments to expand their contribution to public value generation (Yu, 2023). Extra-role behaviours can also take the form of prosocial rule-breaking actions (Weißmüller et al., 2022). In fact, public servants with high PSM are willing to overcome red tape if they feel that bureaucratic constraints unreasonably prevent public value generation (Palumbo and Manna, 2020).
Prompting organisational citizenship behaviours, PSM advances organisational performance, positively impacting the public value delivered to the community (Mostafa and Leon-Cazares, 2016). This activates a self-nourishing dynamic that continuously advances PSM (Boardman and Sundquist, 2009). Gains in organisational performance involve more and better services for the community, which ultimately benefits from a workforce imbued with PSM (Vandenabeele, 2009). Hence, the public servants’ perception of public service effectiveness is expected to grow. On the one hand, improved perceptions of public service effectiveness further stimulate organisational commitment, thus igniting PSM. On the other hand, public servants who perceive public service effectiveness are more satisfied with their jobs. These dynamics indirectly increase PSM, making public servants eager to partake in organisational dynamics.
Limitations and avenues for further development
Three main limitations affected this literature review: acknowledging them is conducive to a better interpretation of the study findings. First, the reviewed items were obtained from a targeted search in three citation databases. Other sources commonly used in literature reviews, such as Google Scholar, were not queried, because they did not include features allowing systematic reviews, thus compromising the replicability of the study design (Stapleton et al., 2020; Visser et al., 2021). Despite such limitation, it is possible to maintain that the literature review was comprehensive and up-to-date, since it ensured an exhaustive coverage of the scholarly debate in our study domain (Singh et al., 2021). Second, the search string used to collect relevant items focused exclusively on PSM, excluding germane concepts related to public service identity, public service values and public ethos. Although this constrained the representation of the motives inspiring public servants, the decision to cast the spotlight on PSM was consistent with the study aim, which precisely intended to portray the intertwinement of PSM and organisational behaviours. Third, the research findings and the integrative framework reported above relied on an interpretive account of the evidence collected from reviewed contributions. Even though this compromises the objective replicability of the study results, it enabled an original and in-depth overview of the state of scientific knowledge.
Despite such limitations, this literature review envisions compelling avenues for further development. Meaningfulness has been identified as a fundamental ingredient of the recipe for PSM. Little is known about how meaningfulness is built at the psychological, social and organisational levels to set the ground for PSM. Further research rooted in self-determination theory and social cognitive theory is required to push forward our understanding of the interplay between psychological, social and organisational factors in determining work meaningfulness and fostering PSM. Studies embracing a person–environment fit perspective to investigate sensemaking and sensegiving processes in public sector entities are needed to unravel the drivers and implications of PSM. This literature review emphasised that leadership is especially salient in boosting PSM among public servants. Inter alia, scholars argue the crucial role of transformational and servant leadership styles as antecedents of PSM. Nevertheless, additional research is necessary to explore if and how these leadership styles can be merged to motivate and engage public servants at work. Finally, a growing stream of literature highlights a potential dark side of PSM. Since it energises public servants and emboldens them to dedicate efforts to public value generation, PSM might trigger an uncontrolled exposure to overload, making people less willing to detach from work. Self-sacrifice, compassion and commitment to the public interest could pave the way for work intensification, with drawbacks on work-life balance and stress. From this point of view, further research is needed to clarify the nexus between PSM and work-related stress, identifying approaches and practices to avoid that the organisational commitment of highly motivated public servants might generate backlash on their well-being, contaminating the work-life balance.
Implications for theory and practice
The implications of this literature review are twofold, contributing to theory and practice. From a conceptual perspective, a multilevel interpretation is recommended to shed light on how PSM influences public servants’ feelings, thoughts and behaviours in the workplace. PSM is established on the individual experience of work meaningfulness. Besides, it is nurtured by interpersonal exchanges that underpin feelings of justice and fairness, enabling public servants to acknowledge their contribution to organisational performance. Finally, yet importantly, PSM requires a favourable organisational setting, which stresses the valence of public sector entities’ mission and keeps public servants engaged at work. Overlooking one of these dimensions impedes leveraging PSM to enhance organisational dynamics. Coherently with these arguments, combining different theoretical lenses can serve the purpose of disentangling the interplay of PSM and organisational behaviours. Self-determination theory can enable us to investigate the psychological grounds for PSM deeply, while social cognitive theory and organisational commitment theory unveil the social and organisational factors that lie behind the behaviours and actions of public servants.
From a practical perspective, the study findings suggest that PSM should be carefully handled in the workplace hosted by public sector entities, catalysing its positive implications on organisational dynamics and overcoming its side effects on individual well-being. PSM can be framed as a two-edged sword. While it fosters the public servants’ desire to partake in processes aimed at the generation of public value, it curbs the personal ability to detach from work. Precautions should be taken to cope with the workaholic behaviours that PSM can trigger, addressing the adverse effects of self-sacrifice and commitment to the public interest on work-life balance and work-related stress. Furthermore, it is worth noting that PSM relies on psychological empowerment, since it emotionally engages public servants at work. In line with this point, public managers should take action to remove red tape hampering public servants’ ability to participate in public value generation. PSM might become a disengaging factor when unreasonable bureaucratic constraints prevent public servants from generating value for and with citizens, undermining their organisational identification and commitment and paving the way for quitting behaviours.
Conclusions
This study reviewed the current scholarly debate about the interplay of PSM and organisational behaviours. Based on bibliographic coupling, the reviewed items were articulated in three research streams, which enabled us to unveil how PSM is contextualised within organisational dynamics. The integrative framework obtained from the systematisation of our research findings suggests that a multilevel approach is needed to disentangle the intertwinement of PSM and organisational behaviours. PSM is unleashed when public servants perceive their work as meaningful, acknowledge the salience of their jobs for public value generation and envision perspectives for personal and professional growth within the organisation. Highly motivated public servants are psychologically empowered and emotionally engaged at work. This makes them willing to act as stewards of public values and behave as organisational citizens. From this standpoint, they thoroughly stick to their role and commit to extra-role activities when they are conducive to generating a stronger impact for the community. However, when such pro-organisational behaviours are inhibited by red tape and bureaucratic constraints, PSM embitter the public servants’ work experience, creating resignation and disengagement. In addition, public servants with high PSM might be less ready to detach from work when they face challenging job demands. In such circumstances, PSM heralds work intensification and overload, compromising well-being. Tailored management initiatives are needed to mobilise the pros and overcome the cons of PSM, putting it at the service of public value generation.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
References
Supplementary material
The supplementary material for this article can be found online.
