Concept and origins
Writing as New Public Management promoted pay for performance, Perry and Wise (1990) argued that public employees have distinctive motives: attraction to policymaking (rational), commitment to the public interest (normative) and compassion (affective). People high in PSM, they predicted, choose public organisations and perform better there.
Dimensions and measurement
Perry (1996) built a scale with four dimensions: attraction to policymaking, commitment to the public interest, compassion and self-sacrifice. Kim et al. (2013) developed an international instrument, and Vandenabeele (2007) offered an institutional account of how institutions shape individual values. The idea links to intrinsic motivation in self-determination theory. Ritz et al. (2016) found PSM generally associated with job satisfaction, commitment and performance.
Critiques and implications
Bozeman and Su (2015) criticised the concept as vague and questioned whether it is unique to the public sector. Reliance on self-report surveys risks social desirability bias, and high PSM in a poor work environment may lead to burnout. Still, the concept encourages recruitment, training and reward systems that sustain public value and a sense of mission.
FAQ
- What is public service motivation in simple terms?
- It is the wish to work in public service because you want to help society, not mainly for money or promotion.
- What are the four dimensions of PSM?
- Attraction to policymaking, commitment to the public interest, compassion and self-sacrifice.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Perry, J. L., & Wise, L. R. (1990). The motivational bases of public service. Public Administration Review, 50(3), 367–373. The article that first defined public service motivation and its three motive types.
- Perry, J. L. (1996). Measuring public service motivation: An assessment of construct reliability and validity. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 6(1), 5–22. Develops the four-dimension PSM measurement scale.
- Kim, S., Vandenabeele, W., Wright, B. E., Andersen, L. B., Cerase, F. P., Christensen, R. K., … De Vivo, P. (2013). Investigating the structure and meaning of public service motivation across populations: Developing an international instrument and addressing issues of measurement invariance. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 23(1), 79–102. An international PSM instrument tested across countries.
- Vandenabeele, W. (2007). Toward a public administration theory of public service motivation: An institutional approach. Public Management Review, 9(4), 545–556. An institutional account of how PSM is formed.
- Perry, J. L., & Hondeghem, A. (Eds.). (2008). Motivation in public management: The call of public service. Oxford University Press. An edited volume surveying PSM research.
- Ritz, A., Brewer, G. A., & Neumann, O. (2016). Public service motivation: A systematic literature review and outlook. Public Administration Review, 76(3), 414–426. A systematic review of PSM research and its outlook.
- Bozeman, B., & Su, X. (2015). Public service motivation concepts and theory: A critique. Public Administration Review, 75(5), 700–710. A critique of the concept's ambiguity.