Public Service Motivation, Performance-Contingent Pay, and Job Satisfaction of Street-Level Bureaucrats

Wenyan Tu; Chih-Wei Hsieh; Chung-An Chen; Bo Wen

doi:10.1177/00910260231201628

Public Service Motivation, Performance-Contingent Pay, and Job Satisfaction of Street-Level Bureaucrats

Wenyan Tu
, Chih-Wei Hsieh
, Chung-An Chen
, Bo Wen^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Public and International Affairs

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Does job satisfaction of street-level bureaucrats depend on intrinsic public service motivation (PSM) or extrinsic performance-contingent pay? Which factor exerts a more substantial impact on job satisfaction? Drawing on a data set of 220 frontline public service workers in Hong Kong, this study examines the nuanced relationship among PSM, performance-contingent pay, and job satisfaction. The findings show that both PSM and performance-contingent pay elevate the job satisfaction of street-level bureaucrats through a shared mediator-perceived job control. Furthermore, PSM, as an intrinsic motivator, exerts a stronger impact on job satisfaction than performance-contingent pay. © The Author(s) 2023.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	256-280
Journal	Public Personnel Management
Volume	53
Issue number	2
Online published	10 Oct 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/00910260231201628
Publication status	Published - Jun 2024

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was partially supported by the General Research Fund allotted by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (project no.: 9043097) and by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (project nos.: 72004189, 72304069).

Research Keywords

public service motivation
performance-contingent pay
perceived job control
job satisfaction
street-level bureaucrats in Hong Kong

RGC Funding Information

RGC-funded

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10.1177/00910260231201628

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Cite this

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title = "Public Service Motivation, Performance-Contingent Pay, and Job Satisfaction of Street-Level Bureaucrats",

abstract = "Does job satisfaction of street-level bureaucrats depend on intrinsic public service motivation (PSM) or extrinsic performance-contingent pay? Which factor exerts a more substantial impact on job satisfaction? Drawing on a data set of 220 frontline public service workers in Hong Kong, this study examines the nuanced relationship among PSM, performance-contingent pay, and job satisfaction. The findings show that both PSM and performance-contingent pay elevate the job satisfaction of street-level bureaucrats through a shared mediator-perceived job control. Furthermore, PSM, as an intrinsic motivator, exerts a stronger impact on job satisfaction than performance-contingent pay. {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2023.",

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author = "Wenyan Tu and Chih-Wei Hsieh and Chung-An Chen and Bo Wen",

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T1 - Public Service Motivation, Performance-Contingent Pay, and Job Satisfaction of Street-Level Bureaucrats

AU - Tu, Wenyan

AU - Hsieh, Chih-Wei

AU - Chen, Chung-An

AU - Wen, Bo

PY - 2024/6

Y1 - 2024/6

N2 - Does job satisfaction of street-level bureaucrats depend on intrinsic public service motivation (PSM) or extrinsic performance-contingent pay? Which factor exerts a more substantial impact on job satisfaction? Drawing on a data set of 220 frontline public service workers in Hong Kong, this study examines the nuanced relationship among PSM, performance-contingent pay, and job satisfaction. The findings show that both PSM and performance-contingent pay elevate the job satisfaction of street-level bureaucrats through a shared mediator-perceived job control. Furthermore, PSM, as an intrinsic motivator, exerts a stronger impact on job satisfaction than performance-contingent pay. © The Author(s) 2023.

AB - Does job satisfaction of street-level bureaucrats depend on intrinsic public service motivation (PSM) or extrinsic performance-contingent pay? Which factor exerts a more substantial impact on job satisfaction? Drawing on a data set of 220 frontline public service workers in Hong Kong, this study examines the nuanced relationship among PSM, performance-contingent pay, and job satisfaction. The findings show that both PSM and performance-contingent pay elevate the job satisfaction of street-level bureaucrats through a shared mediator-perceived job control. Furthermore, PSM, as an intrinsic motivator, exerts a stronger impact on job satisfaction than performance-contingent pay. © The Author(s) 2023.

KW - public service motivation

KW - performance-contingent pay

KW - perceived job control

KW - job satisfaction

KW - street-level bureaucrats in Hong Kong

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U2 - 10.1177/00910260231201628

DO - 10.1177/00910260231201628

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 0091-0260

VL - 53

SP - 256

EP - 280

JO - Public Personnel Management

JF - Public Personnel Management

IS - 2

ER -

Public Service Motivation, Performance-Contingent Pay, and Job Satisfaction of Street-Level Bureaucrats

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Research Keywords

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GRF: Does Pay for Performance Undermine Satisfaction from Public Service Work? Collecting Survey and Experimental Evidence Through “Full-Circle” Research

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Public Service Motivation, Performance-Contingent Pay, and Job Satisfaction of Street-Level Bureaucrats

Abstract

Funding

Research Keywords

RGC Funding Information

Access Output

Other Access Options

Permanent Link

Other Files and Links

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GRF: Does Pay for Performance Undermine Satisfaction from Public Service Work? Collecting Survey and Experimental Evidence Through “Full-Circle” Research

Cite this