IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/pubmgr/v13y2011i7p967-1002.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do Employees Behave Differently In Public- Vs Private-Sector Organizations?

Author

Listed:
  • Hayo C. Baarspul
  • Celeste P.M. Wilderom

Abstract

Governmental, public-sector organizations are known to operate differently than private, for-profit organizations. But do sector differences exist at the individual level as well? In this article we review twenty-eight hypothesis-driven empirical studies on this question. Most of the single studies found significant individual-level differences between the two sectors, although not always in the expected direction. After showing the limited available evidence, we criticize this line of inquiry and recommend to: (1) test broader models in which sector is only one of a range of variables; (2) enhance refinement in the use of research methods; and (3) improve the theoretical underpinning.

Suggested Citation

  • Hayo C. Baarspul & Celeste P.M. Wilderom, 2011. "Do Employees Behave Differently In Public- Vs Private-Sector Organizations?," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(7), pages 967-1002, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:pubmgr:v:13:y:2011:i:7:p:967-1002
    DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2011.589614
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/14719037.2011.589614
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/14719037.2011.589614?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Williamson, Oliver E, 1999. "Public and Private Bureaucracies: A Transaction Cost Economics Perspective," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 306-342, April.
    2. Davies, David G, 1971. "The Efficiency of Public versus Private Firms, The Case of Australia's Two Airlines," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(1), pages 149-165, April.
    3. Hood, Christopher, 1995. "The "new public management" in the 1980s: Variations on a theme," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(2-3), pages 93-109.
    4. Schmidt, Stefanie R, 1999. "Long-Run Trends in Workers' Beliefs about Their Own Job Security: Evidence from the General Social Survey," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(4), pages 127-141, October.
    5. Becker, Boris W. & Connor, Patrick E., 2005. "Self-selection or socialization of public- and private-sector managers?: A cross-cultural values analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 111-113, January.
    6. Bowman, James S., 1976. "Managerial ethics in business and government," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 48-54, October.
    7. Kovach, Kenneth A., 1987. "What motivates employees? Workers and supervisors give different answers," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 58-65.
    8. George A. Boyne, 2002. "Public and Private Management: What’s the Difference?," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 97-122, January.
    9. Don Bellante & Albert N. Link, 1981. "Are Public Sector Workers More Risk Averse Than Private Sector Workers?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 34(3), pages 408-412, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dimple Sunayna Johnson, 2020. "Public Versus Private Employees: A Perspective on the Characteristics and Implications," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 9(1), pages 9-14, March.
    2. Zinn, Andrew, 2015. "A typology of supervision in child welfare: Multilevel latent class and confirmatory analyses of caseworker–supervisor relationship type," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 98-110.
    3. Simović Dragana, 2015. "Project Management in Development Aid Industry – Public vs. Private," Croatian International Relations Review, Sciendo, vol. 21(72), pages 167-197, February.
    4. Adolfo C. Fernández Puente & Nuria Sánchez-Sánchez, 2023. "The Impact of the Different Dimensions of Job Quality on Job Satisfaction in the Public and Private sector. What is Wrong with the Social Environment?," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    5. Mengli Zhao & Shibin Sheng & Xiangyu Yang, 2024. "Does public employment foster or inhibit entrepreneurial intentions?," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 317-349, March.
    6. Renata Borges & Jonathon Mote, 2016. "Is it the Brazilian Way? Extending the Comparison of Public and Private Organizations," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 509-528, December.
    7. Dag Ingvar Jacobsen, 2021. "Motivational Differences? Comparing Private, Public and Hybrid Organizations," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 561-575, September.
    8. Danilo M. Marchiori & Emerson W. Mainardes & Ricardo G. Rodrigues, 2018. "Validation of the ISS-QUAL and the role of gender, age and education on it service quality in the public sector," Information Technology and Management, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 217-230, December.
    9. Jabłoński Marek, 2019. "Interdependence Among Creativity, Education, and Job Experience: A Municipal Company in Poland," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 27(4), pages 48-70, December.
    10. Anders Frederiksen & Jesper Rosenberg Hansen, 2013. "Trends in Sector Switching: Evidence from Employer-Employee Data," Economics Working Papers 2013-11, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    11. Adolfo C. Fernández Puente & Nuria Sánchez-Sánchez, 2021. "Labor Market Precarity Shapes Perception of the Public Sector in the Eurozone," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, August.
    12. Weißmüller, Kristina Sabrina, 2022. "Implicit Dimensions of Moral Licensing in Citizen-State Interactions," OSF Preprints a8uwd, Center for Open Science.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Porcher, Simon, 2017. "The ‘hidden costs’ of water provision: New evidence from the relationship between contracting-out and price in French water public services," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 166-175.
    2. Simović Dragana, 2015. "Project Management in Development Aid Industry – Public vs. Private," Croatian International Relations Review, Sciendo, vol. 21(72), pages 167-197, February.
    3. Roehrich, Jens K. & Lewis, Michael A. & George, Gerard, 2014. "Are public–private partnerships a healthy option? A systematic literature review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 110-119.
    4. Marian W. Moszoro & Pablo T. Spiller, 2018. "Implications of Third Parties for Contract Design," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 45(1), pages 5-16, March.
    5. Cristina M. Campos-Alba & Emilio J. De la Higuera-Molina & Gemma Pérez-López & José L. Zafra-Gómez, 2019. "Measuring the Efficiency of Public and Private Delivery Forms: An Application to the Waste Collection Service Using Order-M Data Panel Frontier Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, April.
    6. Stijn VAN PUYVELDE & Marc JEGERS, 2016. "Heterogeneity and self-selection into nonprofit management," CIRIEC Working Papers 1603, CIRIEC - Université de Liège.
    7. Alonso, José M. & Clifton, Judith & Díaz-Fuentes, Daniel, 2017. "The impact of government outsourcing on public spending: Evidence from European Union countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 333-348.
    8. Maleen Z. Gong & Nava Subramaniam, 2020. "Principal leadership style and school performance: mediating roles of risk management culture and management control systems use in Australian schools," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(3), pages 2427-2466, September.
    9. Benjamin Artz & Ilker Kaya, 2014. "Job insecurity and job satisfaction in the United States: the case of public sector union workers," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 103-120, March.
    10. Serden Özcan & Toke Reichstein, 2009. "Transition to Entrepreneurship from the Public Sector: Predispositional and Contextual Effects," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(4), pages 604-618, April.
    11. Joshua R. Bruce & John M. de Figueiredo & Brian S. Silverman, 2019. "Public contracting for private innovation: Government capabilities, decision rights, and performance outcomes," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 533-555, April.
    12. Carole RENTSCH & Matthias FINGER, 2014. "Yes, no, maybe: the ambiguous relationships between State-owned enterprises and States," Departmental Working Papers 2014-05, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    13. Ian Hodge & William M. Adams, 2016. "Short-Term Projects versus Adaptive Governance: Conflicting Demands in the Management of Ecological Restoration," Land, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-17, November.
    14. Ball, Amanda & Craig, Russell, 2010. "Using neo-institutionalism to advance social and environmental accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 283-293.
    15. Denis Fougère & Julien Pouget, 2003. "Les déterminants économiques de l'entrée dans la fonction publique," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 369(1), pages 15-48.
    16. Justin Falk & Nadia Karamcheva, 2019. "The Effect of the Employer Match and Defaults on Federal Workers’ Savings Behavior in the Thrift Savings Plan: Working Paper 2019-06," Working Papers 55447, Congressional Budget Office.
    17. Laurent Franckx & Isabelle Brose, 2004. "A theoretical framework for incentives in the public sector," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 10(2), pages 1-8.
    18. Gary M. Fleischman & Eric N. Johnson & Kenton B. Walker & Sean R. Valentine, 2019. "Ethics Versus Outcomes: Managerial Responses to Incentive-Driven and Goal-Induced Employee Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(4), pages 951-967, September.
    19. Kafigi Jeje, 2020. "Risk-Taking and Performance of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Lessons from Tanzanian Bakeries," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 12(3), pages 1-22.
    20. Patrick Francois & Joanne Roberts, 2003. "Contracting Productivity Growth," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(1), pages 59-85.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:pubmgr:v:13:y:2011:i:7:p:967-1002. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RPXM20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.