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The High Note of Meaning: A Case Study of Public Service Motivation of Local Government Officials

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  • Teresa Forte

    (Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive and Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-115 Coimbra, Portugal)

  • Gonçalo Santinha

    (GOVCOPP—Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies, Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

  • Mariana Oliveira

    (Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

  • Marta Patrão

    (GOVCOPP—Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies, Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

Abstract

Public service motivation (PSM) has provided a new breadth to the study of what attracts and retains workers in public organizations committed to the public mission. The present research contributes to the topic by exploring local government workers’ motivation for public service, the meaning they attribute to their activity as public servants, and the relations between PSM and the meaning of work (MOW). An adaptation of the PSM scale to the Portuguese language and context and the local level of public administration is proposed based on a sample of seventeen surveyed municipalities involving 252 participants. Within the analyzed context, dedication to the public interest is the most important factor of public service motivation and, alongside self-sacrifice, more common in older public servants and those with higher educational degrees. Workers with temporary job contracts rank higher in indifference and disbelief in politics as opposed to those workers with tenure who show a higher dedication to the public interest. The majority of the participants consider their work to be purposeful and meaningful, a state that is significantly positively correlated with the more altruistic dimensions of PSM, self-sacrifice and dedication to the public interest, suggesting a profitable venue of organizational research and work policy benchmarking.

Suggested Citation

  • Teresa Forte & Gonçalo Santinha & Mariana Oliveira & Marta Patrão, 2022. "The High Note of Meaning: A Case Study of Public Service Motivation of Local Government Officials," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:11:y:2022:i:9:p:411-:d:909374
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. James L. Perry, 2014. "The motivational bases of public service: foundations for a third wave of research," Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 34-47, January.
    2. Le Grand, Julian, 2006. "Motivation, Agency, and Public Policy: Of Knights and Knaves, Pawns and Queens," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199298914.
    3. Wouter Vandenabeele, 2007. "Toward a public administration theory of public service motivation," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(4), pages 545-556, December.
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