Demystifying the components of public service motivation among young public servants in China: a qualitative inquiry

ABSTRACT

While public service motivation (PSM) is universally acknowledged as a value-laden and context-contingent construct, few studies have relied on qualitative methodologies to investigate unique components and dimensions of PSM in a Chinese context. Thus, our knowledge of on-the-job motivation (held by Chinese public employees) and how the cultural and political systems shape these motivations remains limited. This study fills this gap through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 22 junior public servants working at various organisational levels, geographic locations, and functional departments. The findings show that an attachment to the governance regime and predilection towards becoming a politician are two key dimensions that capture the rational motives among Chinese civil servants. In terms of norm-based motives, Confucianism-oriented authoritative values (including government-centric conception, collectivism, obedience, and moral obligations to serve the public) combine to affect the ways in which Chinese nascent public workers interpret the notion of public interests. In addition, love for both the family and nation serves as a core affective factor that contributes towards one’s willingness to seek membership in the public sector. This study ultimately helps construct an all-encompassing yet localised PSM concept, laying the foundation for subsequent quantitative examinations, validations, and replications of PSM-related theories in China.

KEYWORDS:

• Public service motivation (PSM)
• components
• dimensions
• qualitative inquiry
• China

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Number [72004189].

Notes on contributors

Lei Tao

Lei Tao is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Public and International Affairs at the City University of Hong Kong. His research interests include public personnel management, behavioural public administration, health policy analysis, and emergency management. His recent publications appear in Health Care Management Review, Journal of Asian Public Policy, and Chinese Public Administration Review.

Bo Wen

Bo Wen is an assistant professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs at the City University of Hong Kong. His primary areas of study are public management, organisation theory and behaviour, institutional analysis, policy implementation, regulatory governance, and Chinese politics. His work appears in Public Administration Review, The China Quarterly, The American Review of Public Administration, International Public Management Journal, among others.