Like father, like son: explicating parental influence on adult children’s public sector preference

Abstract

Research on how parents influence their children’s public sector preference is becoming more plentiful; unfortunately, these studies do not include the analysis of cultural contexts. In this study based in Taiwan, elements of Confucian ideology, which encompass submission to authority and male dominance, are proposed as the main sources of this parental influence. First, parents directly transmit values, such as public service motivation (PSM) as well as security and growth values, to their children and subsequently shape their sector preferences. Second, parents’ opinions and expectations about whether or not their children should consider a public service career in turn affects children’s own public sector preference. Statistical results from the parent–child dyadic data support both value transmission and parental expectation mechanisms. Additional analysis shows that the father’s influence is stronger than that of the mother.

Notes

1 The words “filial” and “piety” are originally derived from Latin; filius refers to being a son in relation to a parent, and pietas means dutiful (Hamilton 1990). The term describes a core pillar of Confucian ethics, referring to the utmost duty of respect and care for one’s parents (also see: Bedford and Yeh 2019).

2 Please refer to https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/about-us-publications/caf_wgi2018_report_webnopw_2379a_261018.pdf?sfvrsn=c28e9140_4, the 2018 World Giving Index, for detailed statistics.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology Research Grant (NSC-102-2410-H- 004-124-MY2; TGBSIII) and Singapore Ministry of Education Tier-1 Grant (RG61/16).

Notes on contributors

Chung-An Chen

Chung-An Chen is 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 and human resource management.

Chih-Wei Hsieh

Chih-Wei Hsieh is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Policy at the City University of Hong Kong. His research interests focus on public service delivery, human resource management, and organizational behavior. He has published articles on emotional labor, public service motivation, and workplace diversity.

Don-Yun Chen

Don-Yun Chen is Professor in the Department of Public Administration, National Chengchi University, Taiwan; researcher in the Taiwan Institute for Government and Communication Research, National Chengchi University, Taiwan. His areas of specialization are democratic governance, e-Governance, bureaucratic politics, policy analysis and management.

Bo Wen

Bo Wen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Policy at the City University of Hong Kong. His primary areas of study are public management, organization theory and behavior, institutional analysis, policy implementation, regulatory governance, and Chinese politics.