Public service motivation and job satisfaction in Jambi, Indonesia

The purpose of this study was to test public service motivation theory in a previously unexamined setting, Indonesia, using a 20-item, four-dimensional measurement model recommended for international research. The study also explored the relationship between public service motivation and job satisfaction using the Job Descriptive Index (JDI). The study of public service motivation first appeared in 1963, was popularized again by Perry (1990) and thereafter widely pursued in predominantly Western settings. The literature suggests that public employees have greater public service motivation than private sector workers and that public service motivation is positively related with job satisfaction. This study was conducted in two sequential self-administered surveys. The first survey (n=451) compared public and private employees working in the health sector. The second survey used only local public employees (n=357). Confirmatory Factor Analyses confirmed the existence of four dimensions of public service motivation in Indonesia. The study also supported the assertions that public employees have higher levels of public service motivation than those of the private sector, and that public service motivation has some relationships with five facets of job satisfaction.