Testing the structure of public service motivation in Korea: A research note

Public service motivation (PSM) assumes that civil servants are characterized by an ethic to serve the public. Perry identified a multidimensional scale to measure PSM with four components: attraction to policy making (APM), commitment to public interest, compassion, and self-sacrifice. But there is little research on the generalizability and applicability of the dimensions and scale of PSM in the other countries. This study tests whether the structure of PSM observed in the United States by Perry can be generalized to Korea. Two independent samples (n1 = 294 and n2 = 290) are used to validate the scale. The statistical analysis applied confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using Amos 5.0. It was found that the four-factor structure of PSM can be generalized in the Korean context, but it is doubtful whether the APM factor in the second-order model is a valid dimension of PSM. Several reasons for this are discussed, including: (1) rational motives might not be related to PSM in the Korean context, (2) rational motives might not be part of PSM at all, (3) scale items measuring APM might not be appropriate to represent a rational base of PSM, and (4) negatively worded scale items from Perry might not be appropriate to assess APM.