The impact of pubic service motives on work outcomes in Australia: a comparative multi-dimensional analysis

There is a general consensus that individuals who are driven to serve the public interest can possess a mix of public service motives for engaging in altruistic actions. This article proposes that when analysed simultaneously, some public service motives may play a more important role than others in influencing work outcomes. The pressing questions are which ones and how? Through a survey of a group of Australian public sector employees, this article explores the relationship between the various dimensions of public service motivation (PSM) and the common work outcomes: organizational commitment, job satisfaction and job motivation. The combinations of PSM dimensions that had a greater impact on these work outcomes are also found to vary with different outcomes.