The Role of Social Norms on Public Service Motivation and Prosocial Behavior: Moderating Effect versus Direct Effect

Social norms are regarded as customary rules that govern behavior in society but little is known about how social norms affect PSM and prosocial behavior. The purpose of the current study is to figure out the role of social norms on PSM and prosocial behavior through testing two theoretical models: one hypothesizes that social norms moderate the relationship between PSM and prosocial behavior; another predicts that social norms directly affect both PSM and prosocial behavior. Using the two waves of online survey data from Korea (n = 1,519), it confirms only the direct effect model. We can say that social norms may influence PSM and prosocial behavior directly because members of a society have learned from social norms what attitudes and behaviors are expected of them in various situations. This study provides support for the institutional perspective on PSM.