Factors Affecting the Preference for Public Sector Employment at the Pre-Entry Level: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT:

Public sector personnel management faces severe challenges. Different long-term challenges contribute to a rising competition over the future workforce. This has sparked stark academic interest and a debate on possible existing differences between (potential) public and private sector employees has been gaining new ground. Public service motivation (PSM) can be identified as one of the crucial pieces of the puzzle of what drives preferences for public sector employment. However, despite the significant rise in the number of studies on occupational choice, more clarity is needed on what factors drive, and—equally important—hinder preferences for employment in the public sector. This systematic review provides a consolidation of extant findings on preference for public sector employment at the pre-entry level and thus possible future employees. We assess and summarize the research progress in this field in terms of theories, methods, and measurement. In doing so, we do not only contribute to a more balanced view of prior results, but also raise questions about the relevance and (future) role of PSM in occupational choice and highlight important issues that need to be addressed in future research.

Notes

CatalogPLUS of the Vienna University of Economics and Business, covering EBSCO, Emerald, JSTOR, PsychARTICLES, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, Web of Science, and Wiley.

Administration & Society, Australian Journal of Public Administration, Canadian Public Administration, Governance, International Public Management Journal, International Review of Administrative Sciences, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Personnel Review, Public Administration Quarterly, Public Administration Review, Public Administration, Public Management Review, Public Personnel Management, Public Policy and Administration, Review of Public Personnel Administration, The American Review of Public Administration.

While this study built on a mixed-method approach, including surveys and interviews, only the qualitative part (interviews, open-ended questions in surveys) analyzes the effect of different factors on employment sector choice. The quantitative part presents descriptive statistics and thus does not meet the inclusion criteria for this review.

According to Becher and Trowler (2001:47 ff.), being a member of a disciplinary community involves personal commitment to and identity with the community, and through socialization processes, leads to taking on a cultural frame that defines much of an individual’s life and world view. Thus, being socialized as a member of the communities of public policy or public administration disciplines is likely to have a more positive effect on the preference for employment in the public sector than socialization in more general fields.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sanja Korac

Sanja Korac ([email protected]) is an assistant professor at the Department of Public, Nonprofit & Health Management at Alpen-Adria-Universitaet Klagenfurt, Austria. She was the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Research Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University in the academic year 2014/2015. Her research focuses on public service motivation, accounting in the public sector, innovation, and government owned enterprises. Sanja is member of the executive committee of the Special Interest Group on Accounting and Accountability of the International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM), and member of the Commission Public Enterprises/Public Services of the International Centre of Research and Information on the Public, Social and Cooperative Economy (CIRIEC).

Iris Saliterer

Iris Saliterer ([email protected]) is a professor of public and non-profit management at Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg, Germany. She was the Joseph A. Schumpeter Fellow at Harvard University in the academic year 2015/2016. Her research focuses on performance management, financial management, and accounting in the public sector, public service motivation, and public innovation. She has led several large-scale empirical research projects on a national level, and is partner in international research projects in these areas. Iris is member of the executive committee of the Special Interest Group on Accounting and Accountability of the International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM) and active member of several other international scientific committees and groups.

Benedikt Weigand

Benedikt Weigand ([email protected]) is a PhD student at the Alpen-Adria-Universitaet Klagenfurt, Austria. His main research interests are public service motivation and leadership in the public sector. He studied Business Administration at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and Business Administration with a focus on Public Management at the Alpen-Adria-Universitaet Klagenfurt, Austria. Benedikt has worked as assistant in an applied research project with Austrian local governments at the Department of Public, Nonprofit & Health Management at Alpen-Adria-Universitaet Klagenfurt, Austria.