Motivated to Serve: A Regulatory Perspective on Public Service Motivation and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

• Published date: 01 January 2022
• Author: Mathieu Molines,Matthieu Mifsud,Assâad El Akremi,Antony Perrier
• Date: 01 January 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13445

102 Public Administration Review • January | Fe bruary 20 22

Abstract: Drawing on regulatory focus theory, we investigate how public employees’ regulatory orientations (promotion

and prevention focus) at work affect public service motivation (PSM) and change-oriented and maintenance-oriented

organizational citizenship behavior (change-OCB; maintenance-OCB). The results, based on a three-wave study of

1,397 French police officers, empirically support expectations that the two regulatory orientations may activate PSM

differently and are positively associated with change-OCB and maintenance-OCB. These findings underline the role

of regulatory orientations as key psychological sources of PSM and OCB, extending existing public administration

knowledge. This article suggests that police organizations could benefit from integrating regulatory focus insights into

their practices.

Evidence for Practice

• This study shows the importance of two orientations—promotion and prevention focus at work—to

fostering public service motivation (PSM) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB).

• Promotion focus is positively related to attraction to public service and self-sacrifice, while prevention focus

is positively associated with commitment to public value and self-sacrifice.

• Self-sacrifice acts as a central element in promoting change-OCB and maintenance-OCB.

• To promote PSM and OCB, police organizations should address both regulatory orientations (promotion

and prevention) in their practices.

Tom and Julia are new police recruits. They

both want to perform well and be successful

in their jobs. However, being a good police

officer does not have exactly the same meaning for

them. Julia wants to make a difference as a police

officer and have a true impact on civil society. She

is guided by her ideals, hopes, and aspirations. On

the other hand, Tom wants to fulfill his civic duty.

He is guided by his obligations and their demands,

expectations, and requirements. These scenarios

illustrate the different orientations that fundamentally

regulate Tom and Julia’s motivations and behaviors

and suggest that it could be dysfunctional for public

organizations to not appreciate these different

orientations and correctly integrate them into their

practices.

Understanding the source of motivation for employees

in public organizations has long been an important

question for public administration practitioners

and scholars (Ritz, Brewer, and Neumann 2016). In

recent decades, academics have relied extensively on

the concept of public service motivation (PSM; Perry

and Wise 1990), a construct that refers to a cluster

of “motives associated with serving the public good”

(Perry and Hondeghem 2008, 3), to understand

why individuals desire to serve the public and link

their personal actions with the overall public interest

(Homberg and Costello 2019).

PSM has been identified as a critical outcome

for public organizations (Bozeman and Su 2015;

Christensen, Paarlberg, and Perry 2017;

Horton 2008; Perry and Vandenabeele 2015; Ritz,

Brewer, and Neumann 2016; Ritz, Vandenabeele,

and Vogel 2021). Unsurprisingly, a large body of

literature has investigated the factors that create,

foster, or strengthen PSM. To date, research has

mainly focused on contextual antecedents such as

sociodemographic variables, social institution factors,

or organizational factors to explain PSM (see Ritz,

Brewer, and Neumann 2016). Although existing

research provides important insights, it tends to focus

too narrowly on contextual aspects and fails to provide

solid theoretical hypotheses about how PSM develops

and can be sustained over time at the individual

level (Bozeman and Su 2015; Perry 2000; Perry and

Vandenabeele 2008). Consequently, scholars have

identified the need to address the psychological

aspects that contribute to PSM (Anderfuhren-Biget

Motivated to Serve: A Regulatory Perspective on Public

Service Motivation and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Mathieu Molines

Matthieu Mifsud

Assâad El Akremi

Antony PerrierESCE International Business School

Audencia Business School

Toulouse 1 Capitole University

Antony Perrier is pursuing the PhD

degree in organizational behavior at the

University of Toulouse Capitole, Toulouse

School of Management (TSM), Toulouse,

France, and TSM-R (UMR 5303 CNRS). His

main research areas include leadership,

social exchange, and social identity. His

research also examines issues related to

psychological health and performance in

extreme contexts.

Email: anthony.perrier@tsm-education.fr

Assâad El Akremi is a professor of

management and organizational behavior

at Toulouse School of Management (TSM),

Toulouse, France. His research focuses

on leadership and micro corporate social

responsibility. He has published in leading

journals such as

Journal of Management

,

Journal of Organizational Behavior

, and

Journal of Management Studies.

Email: assaad.el-akremi@ut-capitole.fr

Matthieu Mifsud is an assistant professor

of management sciences and marketing at

Audencia Business School, Nantes, France.

His research is primarily on consumer

behavior, with a focus on public services

and societal issues (health, ethics, privacy,

etc.). His papers appear in journals such as

Journal of Service Management

and

Social

Science and Medicine

.

Email: mmifsud@audencia.com

Mathieu Molines is an assistant professor

of management at ESCE International

Business School, Paris, France. His research

focuses on leadership and well-being at

work. He is specialized in survey studies

and field experiments. He has published

in journals such as

Social Science and

Medicine

and

Public Management Review

.

Email: mathieu.molines2@gmail.com

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 82, Iss. 1, pp. 102–116. © 2021 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13445.

Research Article