Do high-PSM public employees like extrinsic rewards? A latent class analysis

ABSTRACT

Scholarship examining public service motivation (PSM) in multi-incentive settings is still insufficient. Though previous studies have extensively tested the nomological networks of PSM, they paid less attention to differences between individual preferences. Drawing on latent class analysis (LCA), this study addresses this gap by focusing on these differences in a multi-incentive setting instead of merely investigating relationships between variables. The analysis established a four-class model that classified 1286 Chinese respondents into four groups based on their PSM level and responses to three types of rewards (i.e., intrinsic, intangible extrinsic, and tangible extrinsic rewards). Results demonstrated that: among the respondents, (1) 32.49% with low PSM preferred tangible extrinsic rewards; (2) 19.3% with moderate PSM showed a preference for intangible extrinsic rewards; (3) 35.94% with high PSM reported a desire for tangible extrinsic rewards; and (4) 12.26% with high PSM showed a preference for all three types of rewards. Findings support the argument that PSM may be compatible with tangible and intangible extrinsic rewards.

KEYWORDS:

• Public service motivation
• intrinsic rewards
• extrinsic rewards
• latent class analysis
• Chinese culture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chengwei Xu

Chengwei Xu is an assistant professor in the Public Management and Policy Analysis Programme, International University of Japan (IUJ), Japan. Before joining IUJ, he was a research fellow at the Nanyang Centre for Public Administration, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Dr Xu’s research primarily focuses on behavioral public administration, public governance, and regional economic cooperation. He published in several international journals such as Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, International Review of Administrative Science, Public Performance and Management Review, and Public Personnel Management.

Assel Mussagulova

Assel Mussagulova is a research fellow at Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore. Her research focus is on human resource management and organizational behavior in the public sector, bureaucratic institutions, especially in the post-communist context. Her work has been published in Public Administration Review, Review of Public Personnel Administration, Public Administration and Development, and Australian Journal of Public Administration, among others. She is an associate editor for social media at Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration.

Chung-An Chen

Chung-An Chen is an associate professor in the Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He has a broad interest in public management issues with a particular focus on organizational behavior, human resource management, and East Asian public management.

Ming-Feng Kuo

Ming-Feng Kuo is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and Graduate Institute of Public Affairs, National Taiwan University, Taiwan. He specializes in public management, anti-corruption studies, policy analysis, local governance, and applied econometrics. His research has been published in Public Administration Review, Safety Science, International Public Management Journal, Administration & Society, Taiwanese Journal of Political Science, Journal of Social Sciences and Philosophy, Taiwan Political Science Review, among others.