Public versus private: An empirical investigation of work satisfaction and organizational commitment

The objective of this research is to compare public and private organizations with regard to work related attitudes, work satisfaction and organizational commitment. The long-standing debate as to whether or not public administration must rely upon business administration assumptions has strengthened the need for more research analyzing the similarities and differences between public and private organizations. The public-private comparison is relevant to understand the context in which the transferability of management techniques occurs and be aware of the differences between public and private employees' needs and perceptions. Therefore, this study attempts to explore if the factors that influence work satisfaction and organizational commitment differ for public and private employees. Data from a survey of 925 employees in the public sector and 339 employees in the private sector were collected in order to explore the antecedents of satisfaction and commitment. Multiple regression analysis was employed to test the proposed hypotheses.