Dynamics of Public Service Motivation: Attraction‒Selection and Socialization in the Production and Regulation of Social Services

In: Public administration review: PAR, Volume 74, Issue 1, p. 101-112

Abstract

The literature on public service motivation (PSM) has typically focused on the relationship between motivation and public/private sector of employment, while the character of the work being performed has been neglected. Using panel surveys with pre‐ and postentry measures ofPSMamong certified Danish social workers, this article provides a unique design for investigatingPSM‐based attraction‒selection and socialization effects with respect to the choice between work related to service production or service regulation (controlled for public/private sector of employment). The article shows that thePSMprofiles of social work students predict their preference for one of the two types of work tasks but do not predict first employment in the preferred job. Conversely, postentry shifts in social workers'PSMprofiles result from a complex interplay between influences from both work task and sector.