The Tacit Dimension of Public Sector Attraction in Multi-Incentive Settings

Abstract

The public sector provides a broad range of incentives to apply for jobs, but these incentives have rarely been studied in concert. The present study disentangles how job candidates form intentions to apply for a public sector job in multi-incentive settings and how this process depends on public service motivation (PSM). Using a speeded categorization task in an experimental vignette methodology with 340 current job seekers in the United Kingdom, we focus on perceptions that potential applicants have, or do not have, of a range of employment attributes (i.e., extrinsic, intrinsic, and prosocial) when they screen job advertisements. Results of multilevel analyses suggest that perceptions of intrinsic and extrinsic attributes are similarly strong predictors of the intent to apply for public sector jobs, whereas perceptions of prosocial employment attributes do not yield such an overall effect. However, PSM moderates the relationship between perceptions of prosocial attributes and application intentions, but only among nonstudents. Theoretical implications for the alignment of PSM with extrinsic rewards are discussed. Findings are also important for human resource managers in the public sector who want to adjust their recruitment strategies to specific target groups.

The Public Service Motivated Volunteer: Devoting Time or Effort?

“…PSM was calculated using the remaining dimensions from the CFA. In line with common practice (Asseburg et al, 2019; Liu et al, 2015; Vandenabeele, 2014), items were averaged to generate the variables for each PSM dimension. This approach avoids weighting the dimensions differently as would be the case when using factor scores (Spector, 1992).…”

P‐Hacking, P‐Curves, and the PSM–Performance Relationship: Is There Evidential Value?

“…Both observational (e.g., Vandenabeele 2009) and experimental (e.g., Bellé 2013) empirical evidence supports such theoretical reasoning. The p ‐curve method allows the determination of whether the literature on the PSM–performance effect contains evidential value, that is, if it reflects a true effect and, therefore, “[…] we can rule out selective reporting as the sole explanation of those findings” (Simonsohn, Nelson, and Simmons 2014a, 535).…”

“…It comprises four dimensions: attraction to public policy‐making, commitment to public interest, compassion, and self‐sacrifice (Perry 1996). PSM is one of the most intensively studied concepts of public administration (Ritz, Brewer, and Neumann 2016), used to understand a variety of phenomena such as people's job choices and sector attraction (Asseburg et al 2020; Asseburg and Homberg 2020; Korac, Saliterer, and Weigand 2019), the performance of public employees (Andersen, Heinesen, and Pedersen 2014; Bellé 2013; Pedersen 2015), the differences between public‐ and private‐sector employees (Kroll and Vogel 2018), and many more. Public administration scholars also use it to derive advice regarding the practice of public administration (Christensen, Paarlberg, and Perry 2017; Perry 2014).…”

Employer Branding and Recruitment: Social Media Field Experiments Targeting Future Public Employees

“…Potential recruits may be prejudiced against working for public employers (Asseburg et al. 2020; de Boer 2020) due to stereotypes of lethargy and contempt for—or at least no appreciation for—organizational performance orientation (Korac, Saliterer, and Weigand 2019). This study attempts to counter this perception with a third ad emphasizing the organizational attribute of performance orientation to generate interest in a target group, which might otherwise be more focused on private sector jobs.…”

“…Recent studies in public administration journals have addressed recruitment, focusing on identifying the factors that are effective in attracting recruits (for example Linos 2018; Linos and Riesch 2020; Weske et al 2019). However, explorations of the mechanisms behind employer branding—how the promotion and information processing of these factors works and for which target groups they are suitable—have only recently begun (Asseburg et al 2020).…”