A study of public service motivation: The Korean experience

Most studies on Public Service Motivation (PSM) confirmed the prevalence of PSM in the public sector and its positive impact on job-related behaviors. The literature review, however, revealed that methodological weaknesses in those studies preclude definitive conclusions. In addition, the scope of the studies remains limited, and no study has been conducted outside the U.S. This study was designed to address the problems, first with increased methodological rigor, second, by extending the scope of PSM research to unexplored areas: the potential impact of PSM on government employees' conception of roles and responsibilities expressed through four administrative values: neutrality, proactive role, efficiency, and social equity, third, in the Korean culture, to determine the cross-cultural viability of PSM theory.; For this study, two independent surveys of Korean nationals were conducted. To examine PSM's prevalence in the public sector, 154 Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) from government, non-profit, and private organizations were surveyed. A second survey involving 413 Korean national government employees was conducted to investigate the behavioral implications of PSM. The effect of PSM on government employees' conception of roles and responsibilities were also measured.; Analysis of Survey 1 revealed greater prevalence of PSM among government employees and confirmed it as an important basis of them. The analysis of Survey 2 found PSM to positively affect job satisfaction and organizational commitment; this implies that empirical evidence, beyond normative argument, exists for PSM as integral in higher quality management. Study data showed that government employees with higher PSM also supported proactive role and social equity and advocated efficiency and neutrality more strongly. Thus, PSM was seen to affect the quality of public service by impacting government employees' conception of roles and responsibilities.; Additional comparison of this study with Naff and Crum's on U.S Federal government employees concluded that the behavioral implications of PSM empirically confirmed in the U.S. also exist in Korea. These results suggest that PSM theory may be cross-culturally viable. Both the theoretical and practical implications of the research findings were discussed in relation to motivation theory, rational choice theory, market-oriented reform movements, and current civil service reform movements in Korea.