Public Service Motivation, Task, and Non-task Behavior: A Performance Appraisal Experiment with Korean MPA and MBA Students

ABSTRACT

Appraisals of public employees are important for a host of reasons, and particularly so with the increasing emphasis on pay-for-performance systems and performance-based management in the public sector. However, managerial appraisals of employees can be somewhat subjective and our understanding of the appraisal process in the public sector is largely U.S.-centric. In this study, we explore whether characteristics of managers, like a rater's public service motivation (PSM), affect appraisal outcomes for their subordinates. Using a mixed experimental design, we analyze these dynamics in a non-U.S. context with MBA and MPA students enrolled in one of Korea's top universities. We find that rater PSM moderates the influence of both task and non-task behavior on an employee's performance appraisal.

Notes

Note: Valid n = 98.

*p < .05; **p < .01.

We note, however, that theoretical attempts to distinguish PSM are not new, and that the idea of PSM as a distinct concept stems, in part, from critiques (Perry and Porter 1982; Shamir 1991) that classic theories of motivation—presumably including altruistic motivation (e.g., Rushton, Chrisjohn, and Fekken 1981)—paid too much attention to rational, self-centered dynamics, and too little attention to prosocial and institutions-conscious dynamics (Perry 2000). Despite an early desire to distinguish PSM from then extant concepts, Perry, Hondeghem, and Wise (2010, 681–682), in a 20-year review of the PSM literature, underscore that altruism and prosocial motivation remain closely related to PSM. This confirms early PSM work that accepted shared conceptual space with altruistic motivation. (Rainey and Steinbauer 1999).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robert K. Christensen

Robert K. Christensen ([email protected]) is Associate Professor of Public Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia's School of Public and International Affairs. His current research focuses on pro- and antisocial motivations and behaviors in public and nonprofit workplaces. He has received several research recognitions, including a best dissertation award from the Academy of Management. He is currently a Lilly Teaching Fellow at the University of Georgia.

Steven W. Whiting

Steven W. Whiting ([email protected]) is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business in Bloomington, Indiana. His research focuses on organizational citizenship behaviors, the job performance domain, and the influence of these behaviors on organizational decisions such as performance evaluation and selection.

Tobin Im

Tobin Im ([email protected]) is a Professor at the Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National University, South Korea. He has published extensively in major international journals and written many books in the field of organizational theory, comparative public administration, and performance management. His current research focuses on the theoretical development of the concept of government competitiveness and measurement indicators. Correspondence concerning this article should be directed to Dr. Im.

Eunju Rho

Eunju Rho ([email protected]) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on public and nonprofit management, interorganizational network management, emergency management, organizational behavior, and organizational communication.

Justin M. Stritch

Justin M. Stritch ([email protected]) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia. His research focuses on public service motivation's behavioral consequences, human resource management, organizational social capital, and public and nonprofit organizational performance.

Jungho Park

Jungho Park ([email protected]) is a PhD candidate at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. His research interests include public service motivation (PSM) and its enhancement in organizational settings. His current research focuses on the theoretical development of the relationship between corruption in the public sector and PSM, and the variability of PSM according to social and cultural contexts.