When service calls: Public service motivation and calling as complementary concepts for public service. Issue 4 (1st August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vogel, Morgan D.
• Is Part Of: International public management journal. Volume 25:Issue 4(2022)
• Page Start: 620
• Page End: 638
• Publication Date: 2022-08-01
• Subjects: Public administration -- Periodicals; 351.05
• DOI: 10.1080/10967494.2020.1838014
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1096-7494

Abstract

Abstract: This study explores the distinctions between public service motivation (PSM) and the calling to public service and, specifically, how public servants describe these concepts. Using the calling and PSM framework put forth by Thompson and Christensen (2018 ), 31 semistructured interviews were conducted with city government employees in the Omaha, Nebraska metro area. Findings indicate interviewees identify with the ideas of PSM and calling. In particular, findings suggest predictive themes based on the individual, contextual, and job-based dimensions of the framework highlighting how PSM and calling inform each other as meaningful work concepts. This research validates the PSM-calling framework by providing empirical evidence that the concepts of PSM and calling are complementary, indicating that, when taken together, these concepts can inform and enrich public management research and practice.