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Abstract
Although recent years have witnessed an exponential growth of studies on public service motivation (PSM) and interest in this topic continues to grow, the extant literature has overlooked the potential trickle-down effect of PSM from supervisors to their direct subordinates. The purpose of this study is therefore to empirically examine whether and how supervisors’ PSM might trickle down to their direct subordinates’ PSM. To test the hypotheses proposed in this study, multi-timed and multi-level field data were collected from 229 subordinates nested within 33 workgroups in the Chinese public context. The results show that supervisors’ PSM is positively related to their direct subordinates’ PSM and that this relationship is fully mediated by employees’ perceptions of role modeling. Relevant theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
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Dingxiang Chen
Dingxiang Chen ([email protected]) is assistant professor at the Center for Governance Studies, Beijing Normal University. He received his Ph.D. from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His research focuses on public employee motivation management and strategic human resource management.
Ying Zhang
Ying Zhang ([email protected]) is associate professor at the School of Public Policy and Administration, Northwestern Polytechnical University. She received his Ph.D. from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Her current research focuses on public employee motivation management and strategic human resource management.
Ahmad Bayiz Ahmad
Ahmad Bayiz Ahmad ([email protected]) is a tenured faculty member at the University of Raparin (on leave now) and is currently Programme Director of Business, Management, and Economics in the School of Management and Economics, University of Kurdistan Hewler in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. His current research focuses on employee attitudes and behaviors in public organizations.
Bangcheng Liu
Bangcheng Liu ([email protected]) is professor of organizational behavior and human resource management at the School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He received his Ph.D. in management at the Antai School of Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His current research focuses on cross-cultural organizational behavior and strategic human resource management, especially for public organizations.