Elevating public service motivation research and practice

Abstract

This article examines the state of public service motivation research and associated big questions from the shared perspective of participants who gathered for a 20-year retrospective conference entitled “Elevating Public Service Motivation (PSM) Research” at Aspen Grove, Utah, in 2019. Using a variety of facilitation methods, conference organizers sought to (1) identify the current state of PSM research; (2) provide a practitioner perspective on PSM research; (3) identify shared perspectives of PSM researchers; and (4) identify open questions in PSM scholarship. We report on the results of these efforts. In brief, while there are some areas of broad consensus across PSM scholarship, there are still many contested areas. In particular, researchers and practitioners appear to have different views about the value of PSM research and its application to practice. We articulate several frameworks, motivated by participant insights, to guide future research and practice. We also introduce the IPMJ articles from the 2019 conference that illustrate important themes in PSM’s current and future place in public administrative research and practice.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) (2014S1A3A20448).

Notes on contributors

Eva M. Witesman

Eva M. Witesman is Associate Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management and Stewart L. Grow Research Fellow at the Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics in the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. Dr. Witesman’s work focuses on public and nonprofit sectors, including evaluation, institutional differences, and service values.

Robert K. Christensen

Robert K. Christensen is Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management and George W. Romney Research Fellow at the Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics in the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. His research examines pro- and anti-social motives and behaviors among public service employees. He co-edits the Cambridge University Press Elements Series in Public and Nonprofit Administration.