Trust and Public Service Motivation

Trust is fundamental to the proper functioning of society and to democratic governance. However, there has been insufficient research on how trust is related to public service motivation (PSM). This study examines the relationships among generalized trust, institutional trust, and PSM using two-wave panel data (n = 1,074) with a one-year interval from online surveys conducted in Korea. Results show that both generalized trust and institutional trust are positively related to PSM, with generalized trust being the stronger predictor of PSM. The implications of this study are discussed, and suggestions for future research are presented.