Rethinking Public Service Motivation From the Perspective of Person–Environment Fit: Complementary or Supplementary Relationship?

• Author: Geunpil Ryu
• DOI: 10.1177/0734371X14540688
• Published date: 01 September 2017
• Date: 01 September 2017
• Subject Matter: Articles

Review of Public Personnel Administration

2017, Vol. 37(3) 351 –368

© The Author(s) 2014

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DOI: 10.1177/0734371X14540688

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Article

Rethinking Public

Service Motivation

From the Perspective

of Person–Environment

Fit: Complementary or

Supplementary Relationship?

Geunpil Ryu1

Abstract

Research on public service motivation (PSM) has paid attention to the concept

of fit to identify underlying mechanisms of the relationship between PSM and

beneficial outcomes such as higher job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Nonetheless, there have been rare studies aimed at theoretically comparing PSM

with the person–environment (P–E) fit. In this article, PSM is reviewed from the

perspective of P–E fit, not only because PSM and P–E fit share some theoretical

perspectives, such as job attraction, employee rewards, and individual performance,

but also because incorporating the concept of PSM into the fit framework may allow

us to better understand PSM and enhance its theoretical development. This article

concludes that PSM has a complementary relationship with P–E fit as the two provide

more concrete and valid explanations for job applications, outcomes, and rewards

when they are incorporated.

Keywords

public service motivation, person–environment fit, value congruence

Introduction

Public service motivation (PSM) theory is important because it is a comprehensive

theory that can be used to examine (a) why individuals apply for jobs in public

1POSCO Research Institute, Gwangyang, South Korea

Corresponding Author:

Geunpil Ryu, Senior Researcher, HRD & Innovation Division, POSCO Research Institute, 187-20,

Gumho-ro, Gwangyang, Jeonnam, 545-878, South Korea.

Email: gpryu@posri.re.kr

540688ROPXXX10.1177/0734371X14540688Review of Public Personnel AdministrationRyu

research-article2014

352 Review of Public Personnel Administration 37(3)

organizations and (b) how public organizations motivate government employees for

high performance (Brewer, Selden, & Facer, 2000). Ample evidence has shown that

PSM is positively associated with organizational performance (Brewer & Selden,

2000), performance appraisal (Naff & Crum, 1999), job grade (Alonso & Lewis,

2001), whistle-blowing (Brewer & Selden, 1998), and nonelectoral political activities

(Taylor, 2010), and that it is negatively associated with red tape (Scott & Pandey,

2005).

Many PSM researchers (e.g., Steijn, 2008; Vandenabeele, 2008; Wright & Pandey,

2008) have maintained that the concept of PSM is closely related to person–

environment fit (P–E fit), which refers to a congruence between a person and the envi-

ronment (organization, group, job, etc.) in which he or she works. For example, the

relationship between PSM and job satisfaction (Wright & Pandey, 2008), turnover

intention (Moynihan & Pandey, 2008), performance (Bright, 2007), and job attitudes

(Kim, 2012) is significantly mediated by a fit framework. It further suggests that a fit

mechanism is the missing link that may explain the inconsistent findings about the

relationship between PSM and outcomes (Bright, 2007). Comparing PSM and a fit

framework could provide additional insights into the dynamics of PSM and employer

attractiveness (Vandenabeele, 2008). Nevertheless, rare research to date has compre-

hensively reviewed PSM from the perspective of a fit framework at a conceptual level.

This article seeks to connect the concepts of PSM and P–E fit at the conceptual

level. Although the mediating roles of P–E concepts on the relationship between PSM

and outcomes have been noted in many studies (e.g., Coursey, Yang, & Pandey, 2012;

Wright & Pandey, 2008), the linkage has not been conceptually and comprehensively

examined. In particular, this article addresses the research question of whether P–E fit

has a complementary or supplementary relationship with PSM. Many PSM research-

ers (e.g., Bright, 2007; Perry & Vandenabeele, 2008; Steijn, 2008) have argued that

P–E fit provides more concrete mechanisms on job applications, outcomes, and

rewards for PSM. The connection is important because P–E theory helps to deepen or

modify some of our understanding of how PSM works to effect beneficial results in

personnel management (e.g., decreased turnover intention) and overall organizational

outcomes. Thus, this article may contribute to answering how public organizations can

develop and achieve high levels of PSM at the organizational level.

PSM Theory

As Rainey (1982) pointed out, public service is a broad, multifaceted concept. PSM

has been characterized in many different ways, including a service ethic (Coursey,

Perry, Brudney, & Littlepage, 2008), prosocial orientation (Taylor, 2010), and govern-

ment calling (Vandenabeele, 2008). Furthermore, PSM can be defined in various

ways, such as “an individual’s predisposition to respond to motives grounded primar-

ily or uniquely in public institutions and organizations” (Perry & Wise, 1990, p. 368),

and a “general altruistic motivation to serve the interests of a community of people, a

state, a nation or humanity” (Rainey & Steinbauer, 1999, p. 23). PSM describes “indi-

viduals’ prosocial motivation to do good for other people and society through the