Exploring Determinants of Work Motivation in Public Service: The Influence of Organizational Context and Public Service Motivation

Journal title MECOSAN
Author/s Danila Scarozza, Denita Cepiku, Alessandro Hinna, Alessandro Peluso
Publishing Year 2018 Issue 2017/104
Language Italian Pages 21 P. 89-109 File size 23767 KB
DOI 10.3280/MESA2017-104006
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The study aims to understand the extent to which job satisfaction and organizational commitment are driven by public service motivation versus variables that reflect several aspects of the organizational context. A survey was sent to employees working in a large public hospital in Italy. The analysis show that both work context and individual variables predict work motivation. Particularly, value congruence, attraction to policy making, and self-sacrifice, predict job satisfaction; group culture and self-sacrifice impact organizational commitment. The results offer some implications for HRM. Firstly, public managers have to remove any impediment that can prevent employees from serving the public interest. Second, creating a sense of shared culture could be an important tool is in keeping the workforce motivated and committed.

L’articolo si propone di investigare come sia il contesto organizzativo sia la Public Service Motivation possano influenzare la soddisfazione al lavoro e il commitment organizzativo. Attraverso la somministrazione di un questionario inviato ai lavoratori impiegati in uno dei più grandi ospedali italiani, l’analisi mostra che sia il contesto organizzativo, sia le variabili individuali possono prevedere e spiegare la motivazione al lavoro. In particolare, la coerenza tra valori individuali e organizzativi, l’attrazione per il processo politico e il senso di sacrificio, prevedono la soddisfazione sul lavoro; la cultura di gruppo, il senso di sacrificio e l’impegno per l’interesse pubblico influenzano e determinano il commitment individuale. I risultati offrono anche alcune implicazioni per la gestione delle risorse umane. In primo luogo, il management pubblico deve rimuovere ogni ostacolo che possa impedire ai dipendenti di servire l’interesse pubblico. In secondo luogo, la creazione di un senso di cultura condivisa potrebbe essere una leva importante per mantenere alto il livello di motivazione dei lavoratori.

Keywords: Work context, public service motivation, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, healthcare sector.

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Danila Scarozza, Denita Cepiku, Alessandro Hinna, Alessandro Peluso, Exploring Determinants of Work Motivation in Public Service: The Influence of Organizational Context and Public Service Motivation in "MECOSAN" 104/2017, pp 89-109, DOI: 10.3280/MESA2017-104006