Research On Public Service Motivation And Its Correlates In A Non-Western Setting

Public service motivation(PSM)has become one of the most interesting research topics in public administration.Despite the increase in research on PSM in recent years,the majority of PSM research has been conducted in the West and very little empirical research has been done in the Middle East.Particularly,there is not a single study on PSM in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq(KRI).Thus,it is important to explore PSM and its correlates in this area.While many studies tested the difference between public and private sector employees' PSM level,there is still an ongoing debate about the differences between public and private sector employees.Besides,the majority of research in this regard used the ranking of various reward items,not the PSM measuring scale.Furthermore,among the PSM studies conducted in the Muslim,no study has compared public and private sectors employees'PSM level in an Islamic context.Moreover,PSM is often studied as an independent variable and there has been little evaluation of the roots of PSM.Therefore,study one of this dissertation aims to confirm the existence of PSM in the KRI's context to see if the PSM observed in Western countries and some other countries such as China and South Korea,also exists in Kurdistan.It also examines the differences between public and private sector employees'PSM levels by using a PSM measurement scale.It also evaluates the impact of Islamic work ethic(I WE)as a potential antecedent on PSM.There are calls to study potential variables that mediate and moderate the relationship between PSM and important work-related outcomes.There are also suggestions to expand PSM research by taking an interactionist perspective to explore potential factors that may boost or suppress the virtuous outcomes of PSM.Therefore,this dissertation aims to respond to the calls and suggestions by taking mediating and moderating approaches.While previous research offers empirical insights into the relationship between PSM and employee reactions to change,the underlying psychological processes linking PSM with change-supportive intention are not specified.Therefore,in addition to the direct association between PSM and change-supportive intention,this study also aims to investigate the underlining relationships between PSM and change-supportive intention in the KRI's public organizations.Building on the PSM theory and the TPB,study two of this dissertation examines the role of psychological variables(attitude,subjective norms,and perceived behavioral control)in mediating the relationship between PSM and change-supportive intention.This study also aims to fill the gap in the literature by empirically exploring the role of salary reduction on the relationship between PSM and its outcomes.Therefore,within that frame,study three of this dissertation explores the moderating impact of pay cut on the relationships between PSM and two work outcomes(job satisfaction and organizational commitment).Results of study one revealed no statistically significant differences in the PSM level between public and private sector employees.The analysis of the data also revealed that PSM is strongly influenced by IWE.The results of study two revealed that PSM predicts change-supportive intention,and the relationship between PSM and change-supportive intention is mediated by change-related attitude and subjective norm.The results of study three showed that PSM is positively associated with organizational commitment,but not with job satisfaction.In addition,pay cut did not show any significant moderating effects on the relationships between PSM and the two work outcomes.However,the pay cut is significantly and negatively related to job satisfaction.