Public Service Motivation and Public Opinion
Examining Antecedents and Attitudes

As society faces increasing polarization and persistent inequities, who has public service motivation and how does this shape policy preferences?

Jaclyn S. Piatak (Author), Stephen B. Holt (Author)

9781108964005, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 11 March 2021

75 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 0.5 cm, 0.154 kg

Practitioners, policymakers, and scholars across fields and disciplines seek to understand factors that shape public opinion and public service values, especially in today's polarized context. Yet we know little about how the two relate. Research on public service motivation (PSM), a drive to help others grounded in public institutions, has grown to examine career decisions and behaviors within and outside the workplace, but does the influence of PSM extend to individual values? Using data from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study surrounding the 2016 US presidential election, we first examine the antecedents of PSM; how do individual characteristics as well as socioeconomic and sociocultural factors influence levels of PSM? Second, we describe the role PSM plays in shaping public opinion on policy preferences, budget priorities, and political behaviors. Findings have implications for both understanding who has PSM as well as how PSM shapes public preferences, attitudes, and behaviors.

1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. Who Has PSM?
4. PSM and Public Opinion
5. Discussion
6. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Organizational theory & behaviour [KJU], Public administration [JPP], Politics & government [JP], Social welfare & social services [JKS]