A Meta‐Analysis of the Relationship between Public Service Motivation and Job Satisfaction
verifiedrich profile · Public Administration Review · 2015
Homberg, Fabian; McCarthy, Dermot; Tabvuma, Vurain
How this was studied
A meta-analytic synthesis — it pools many primary studies rather than running a single design, so there is no single-study diagram.
What this article reports
The findings we extracted from this work, normalized into Principia’s relationship form (X → Y). Each feeds the synthesized models below.
public service motivation psm → job satisfaction
Models this article informs
The meta-analytic priors this article contributes evidence to — its place in the broader synthesis.
public service motivation psm correlates job satisfaction
public service motivation psm predicts job satisfaction
In the authors’ words
The article’s own abstract.
Abstract In recent years, much research has been conducted on the relationship between public service motivation ( PSM ) and various outcomes, including job satisfaction. This article presents a meta‐analysis aggregating the effects of PSM on job satisfaction. Meta‐regression analysis is used to assess the impact of numerous study characteristics and to identify potential issues of publication bias. The findings, based on 28 separate studies, show no evidence of publication bias and support the positive relationship between PSM and job satisfaction. Furthermore, the results support the importance of providing individuals with the opportunity to serve the public within this relationship. Given the organizational benefits that can be derived from improved job satisfaction and the focus of PSM research on its implications for job satisfaction, these findings are of interest to both academics and practitioners in the field of public administration.
What the literature says about it
Attributed, open-access quotes from other works that cite this article, plus the citation-graph verdict tally. Corroborations and disputes, in one place — the honest-broker view.
supports “Public employees’ job satisfaction is influenced by PSM because public sector jobs provide employees with opportunities to serve the public interest and fulfill their intrinsic motivational needs (Homberg et al., 2015; Steijn, 2008; Wright & Pandey, 2008).”
supports “…motivation to serve the public, accounting for various factors such as job satisfaction, reward satisfaction, organizational structures, and transactional and transformational leadership (Bottomley et al., 2016; Homberg et al., 2015; Schott & Pronk, 2014; Vuong, 2023; Westover & Taylor, 2010).”
supports “Previous studies across various contexts have consistently shown that public service motivation positively influences public-sector employees’ attitudes and behaviors, such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Campbell & Im, 2016; Homberg et al., 2015; Vandenabeele, 2007).”
supports “Similarly, various forms of work motivation, including intrinsic motivators such as public-service motivation, are widely associated with greater job satisfaction and enhanced effectiveness internationally (Homberg et al., 2015; Ritz et al., 2016).”
Ancillary research
Neighbouring works in the citation graph around this article.
Assembled from Principia’s registry — bibliographic record, extracted effect sizes, the models they inform, and open-access citing literature.