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Public Service Motivation in Shared Service Organizations

Motivation under pressure or business as usual? s0451258 Jasper Hekert Master Public Administration: Management van de Publieke Sector Supervisor: Mw. dr. T.P.S. Steen Second reader: Dhr. dr. J. van der Voet March 4, 2016

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Preface

During my studies in Public Administration at Leiden University, many theories about public organizations and people working in these organizations have been discussed. In particular, the concept of Public Service Motivation intrigued me, which was discussed during the seminars with dr. Steen. Next to this, frequent discussions with my father about reforms in the municipal organization contributed to the idea of investigating the concept of motivation amongst civil servants. This case study on the effects of organizational reform on Public Service Motivation is the result of combining these elements. I would like to thank all civil servants for their time, and would especially like to express my gratitude to dr. Steen for her suggestions and remarks. Leiden, 2016

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Table of Contents

Preface ... 2

1. Introduction ... 4

2. Summary ... 5

3. Research Question ... 6

4. Research Design ... 7

5. Theoretical Framework ... 9

5.1 What is Public Service Motivation? ... 9

5.2 The Antecedents of (Public Service) Motivation ... 12

5.3 Organizational Impact on Public Service Motivation ... 15

5.4 Shared Service Centers ... 18

6. Theoretical summary ... 22

7. Analysis ... 24

7.1 Cases: SP71 & SCD ... 24

7.2 Comparison: Organizational Reality ... 25

8. Conclusion & Recommendations ... 31

Appendix A. Invitation letter for interview ... 38

Appendix B. List of interviewed people ... 40

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1. Introduction

Organizational reform is a trending topic. As the effects of the financial crisis become visible, many organizations, private and public, are forced to reorganize the way they provide services or goods, reduce costs, alter the way they deal with customers and maximize the human capital element of their organization. Certain reform solutions are more popular than others. Focusing on the public sector, a very popular solution is the establishment of a Shared Service Center. In these centers, specific services are delivered to multiple clients, where before these services were only delivered to one department or organization. This research focuses on the establishment of Shared Service Centers in the public sphere, and side effects caused by these changes in the organizational structure, with a focus on its effects on Public Service Motivation. We thus investigate the relationship between Public Service Motivation and a specific reform mechanism. Many scholars agree on the fact that employees in the public sector are different from workers in the private sector. As Elmer Staats (1988: 601) puts it: “‘Public Service’ is a concept, an attitude, a sense of duty –yes even a sense of public morality.” Apparently, workers in the public sector have a different standing towards their work and the organizations they work in. However, what happens to these ‘standings’ when the organizations reform? Will people be indifferent about the changes and remain motivated? Or will they lose ‘faith’ and oppose to change? With this research a contribution is made to the body of research bridging the existing theoretical insights and the complex reality of organizational reform. The quality of public service is not only important to people who work in these organizations, but to society as a whole. By researching the potential side effects of reorganization on public service motivation this research aims for a better understanding of the human factor in public organizations and the motivational elements herein.

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2. Summary

This research investigates the effects on employees’ public service motivation as a result of introducing Shared Service Centers in public organizations. By conducting an interview-based case study amongst a small group of employees at two municipal shared service centers in the Netherlands, the influence of this type of reform is researched. Theories on Public Service Motivation are explored to gain insight in the complexity of motivation. Public service is considered to be more than merely a job, and the motivation to contribute to the public cause can be related to three categories of motives: rational, norm-based and affective. Furthermore, we show that motivation can be influenced at the individual, organizational and cultural level. In order to understand the motives of people who possess or develop PSM their background and personal characteristics -so-called antecedents- are investigated as well. For this research, the impact of organizations on PSM is important. Organizations are responsible for creating the environment in which workers feel they are contributing to society. Organizations are also considered to be social institutions, where specific rules and norms influence workers’ attitude. Reforming public organizations can lead towards a change in the way worker motivation is influenced. It is important for organizations to be clear about the motives for reforming and the potential benefits for the public. The Shared Service Center and its different forms are also explained. Most popular in the public sector are the types where municipalities establish a joint venture and become the owners of the new organization. The use of SSC’s offers opportunities for a higher degree of professional development and a more efficient allocation of goods, people and funds; allowing the client-organizations to focus on their core-activities. This also creates a new challenge for the organization and the people working in it: finding a balance between the role of the manager and the right application of norms, values and organizational culture. The influence of the SSC’s on PSM is researched using several propositions on the impact on the different dimensions of PSM. Looking at the indicators of PSM, we conclude that in this case, the influence of the SSC as reform-method is rather limited. Commonly, workers experience practical issues in the SSC-setting, but are still aware of their position and their work for the public cause. None of the workers perceived their work as being seriously affected by the more business-like working methods that resulted from the SSC’s introduction. Three other elements can be identified that are important for understanding the effects of the SSC-reform in public organizations: first, the role of people’s own vision on the reform, which is important for the acceptance of organizational change; second, the influence of the organization on people’s perception and behavior, as the organization is also a social institution influencing the workers’ standing towards their work; third, the fact that the introduction of the SSC has changed peoples’ work, and the more business-like approach requires a different mentality from all workers in the organization. Overall, workers experience the introduction of the SSC and more business-like working concepts as part of the natural progression in the municipal world. However, challenges for both worker and organization remain; being a flexible and professionally oriented employee, able to cope with a fast changing environment and prepared to adjust when required, while the future for the SSC as successful reform method lies in creating a professional culture where public values are part of everyday life.

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3. Research Question

This research consists of multiple steps. First, the theory on Public Service Motivation is explained by exploring literature in this field of research. Second, the concept of Shared Service Center reform is explained to understand the organizational context of these centers. Third, the case studies will be analyzed using the theoretical framework. The goal of this research paper is to expand the knowledge about the relation between organizational reform and Public Service Motivation, focusing more specifically on Shared Service Centers as an example of organizational reform. When possible, some recommendations will be provided for implementing these business-like concepts in the public sector. The central question in this case study research is: “What are the effects of implementing the SSC-model on employees’ Public Service Motivation?” In order to construct an answer to this question, the first focus will be on the theories on Public Service Motivation and the related ideas on organizational reform. For this purpose the theoretical basis of the research is constructed, using existing research and theories on Public Service Motivation. These theories have been broadly adapted and re-written since Perry & Wise first came up with their paper in 1990. Since then, many other scholars have contributed to this theory and added their insights. Here, the sub-question is: “What research insights exist on the impact of organization and organizational reform on Public Service Motivation?” Next to the theories on Public Service Motivation, an overview of the Shared Service Center construct is provided. The different types of service centers are explained and the advantages and disadvantages of this type of organization are examined. For the Shared Service Center and Organizations, the sub-question is: “What are Shared Service Centers and what are the advantages and disadvantages of this specific reform solution?” The third step will be the analysis of the data from the case studies using the theoretical insights from prior steps. Finally, the conclusions of the case study research will be presented, and recommendations will be made in an effort to preserve or even foster the levels of Public Service Motivation when reforming public organizations.

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4. Research Design

To answer the research question, a comparative case study is conducted. Two different municipal shared service organizations are selected, one that has been operational for a few months, Servicepunt 71 in Leiden, and a second organization that has been operational for several years, Service Centrum Drechtsteden in Dordrecht. By interviewing civil servants at these organizations we hope to gain insights in their public service motivation and the influence organizational reform has on that motivation. Introduction The inspiration for the issue on motivation amongst public employees in shared service centers originates from my father, who is a civil servant at the municipality of Leiden. He reclined the offer to work for the SSC, as he found the concept too business-like. Therefore, the first SSC was chosen in that city, and aim was to compare this case with a SSC that had been operational for over a longer period to see whether or not PSM amongst employees would decrease over time. During the interviews at Servicepunt71, the official name of the Leiden SSC, many mentioned the Drechtsteden SSC as being an example; one of the first and successful SSC’s of the past years. Therefore, the Drechtsteden SSC was the ideal candidate to compare the Servicepunt71 with. The interviews took place in the summer and autumn of 2013. At that time, Servicepunt 71 had been operational for 18 months and the Service Centrum Drechtsteden had been operational for 5 years and 5 months (65 months). Methodology The data for this research was collected during semi-structured interviews at two shared service centers in the Netherlands. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and anonymized. Data gathered from the interviews was not encoded using software, but used as a textual resource. The interviews are read and statements that can be related to a certain theoretical dimension are used to identify the presence of PSM, and test theoretical assumptions. For PSM, three types of motives (Rational/instrumental, normative, and affective) and self-sacrifice are used as ‘codes’ for this purpose. To establish effects from the introduction of SSC’s on PSM, the theoretical background on the antecedents of PSM and organizational impact on PSM is used to understand the context and influence of these elements. Additional information about the SSC-concept is provided to gain insight in the advantages and disadvantages of introducing this concept in public organizations. Interviews Interviews can provide insight into individual thoughts and PSM patterns by providing rich data and the opportunity to adjust the questions to an employee's response. Even though much research on PSM is quantitative, the qualitative approach provides room for discussion and understanding of people’s motives. Using a guideline for the interviews based on theoretical insights, the structure in all interviews was more or less the same, while allowing the interviewee to emphasize certain topics. The selection of respondents at the Servicepunt71 was done using my fathers network and Linked-In. All people volunteered to participate in the interviews. Seven people have been interviewed that have been working for the municipalities prior to their transfer to the SSC. Furthermore, the requirement was that they populated middle-level positions to be able to have a certain level of abstraction towards the organization and their work. For the Drechtsteden-case, the management director was approached through Linked-In. During that interview, the idea rose to send an email to all managers, asking their employees to cooperate with the research. This has led to a number of employees willing to participate. From these employees, a selection of six middle-level workers was made to match the workers in the SP71-case. In the Appendix B, a list of the interviewed people and their positions can be found.

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Quality of the research and Limitations The aim of this research is to investigate the effects on PSM by implementing the SSC-model. By interviewing thirteen civil servants in two organizations, we get an impression of their perception on how the introduction of an SSC influences their motivation for the public cause. However, as our samples are not necessarily representative for the whole population, one should be cautious with generalizing towards the organization in general as well as to other cases. Furthermore, the interviewed civil servants could be biased, as they voluntarily participated in the sessions. They could -for example- be very enthusiastic about the concept, or -on the down side- could be looking for an opportunity to express their concerns and complain about their job. Next to this, the presence of PSM amongst workers is assumed by relating expressions in the interviews to theoretical concepts that are empirically associated with PSM. This does not mean that the workers actually posses PSM, or show behavior associated with PSM, limiting the usability of the outcome. Another important limitation of this research is the single moment at which the interviews are conducted; most PSM-related research is longitudinal and looks at changes over time. This research focuses on a single moment, and reflects the worker’s perception of motivation over time. Nonetheless, the research can be seen as a pilot-study delving into the topic of influences of organizational reform, and the introduction of SSC’s specifically, on PSM. Results from this research can be used to better understand the way workers cope with a changing organizational environment in the SSC-context and provide organizations with insights in this process.

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• Absence of economic markets for the output and consequent diffuseness of incentives and performance indicators • Multiple, conflicting, and often abstract values that public organizations must pursue • Complex, dynamic political and public policy processes, which involve many actors, interests and shifting agendas • External oversight bodies and processes that impose structures, rules, and procedures on public organizations, including civil service rules governing pay, promotion and discipline, and rules that affect training and personnel development • External political climate, including public attitudes toward taxes, government and government employees, which turned negative during the 1970s and 1980s

5. Theoretical Framework

In this chapter, an overview of existing theories on Public Service Motivation will be provided and the main elements of the empirical framework are gathered, which will be a guideline for performing the case studies. The goal of this chapter is to provide a theoretical background for our research question: “What research insights exist on the impact of organization and organizational reform on Public Service Motivation?” In order to do this, the concept of public service motivation needs to be clarified first.

5.1 What is Public Service Motivation?

Following Perry and Porter (1982: 89), motivation can broadly be interpreted as that ‘which energizes, directs, and sustains behavior.’ Other definitions, such as by Pinder (1998) are broadly the same; motivation is described as ‘internal and external forces that initiate work-related behavior, determining its form, direction, intensity, and duration.’ Perry and Porter (1982) state that motivation is not equal to merely (an amount of) effort, but that motivation also includes direction and quality of that effort. Rainey (2003: 220) points out that basic research and theories provide no conclusive science of motivation; leaders and managers will have to draw on the ideas and theories and apply these with appropriate care using their own judgment and experience. Furthermore, it is important to realize that public organizations have a unique context (Rainey, 2003: 221-223) with their own problems and limitations. According to Rainey, five important points about the context of public organizations are: Knowledge of the context of public organizations is important to understand the environment the public servants and the organization are confronted with.

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Motives for public service The question on why people want to work in the public sector brings us to the motive mentioned in many theorists’ work: the desire to serve the public. Rainey (2003: 243-244) amongst others has found that there are common characteristics of persons motivated by public service that are frequently mentioned by public managers: they place a high value on work that helps others and benefits society as a whole, involves self-sacrifice, and provides a sense of responsibility and integrity. He also emphasizes that PSM is by no means restricted to government employees, but is an important topic in developing theories of public management and behavior in public organizations. According to Moynihan and Pandey (2007: 48) PSM has some practical benefits as it helps to recruit individuals into the public sector and strengthens their ties to that sector at the same time; providing a basis for loyalty, motivation and commitment, which in turn is more effective than financial incentives. According to Elmer Staats (1988: 601), “‘public service’ is a concept, an attitude, a sense of duty – yes, even a sense of public morality”. Perry and Wise (1990: 368) agree to this and claim that public service is much more than merely employment. Their view on PSM can be understood as ‘an individual’s predisposition to respond to motives grounded primarily or uniquely in public institutions and organizations’. According to Perry and Wise (1990: 370), these motives may fall into three different categories: • Rational motives: actions grounded in individual utility maximization • Norm-based motives: actions generated by efforts to conform to norms • Affective-based motives: triggers of behavior that are grounded in emotional responses to various social contexts However, one should realize that people hold a mix of motives and have different combinations of values during their life and in different phases of their careers. Perry and Wise (1990) also note that not all public employees are specifically driven by these needs, which appear to be primarily or exclusively associated with public service. For the rational motives, PSM is not often directly connected to individual utility maximization, but certain motives such as participation in a policy-formulating process because of personal identification with it, are in essence rational by nature. In most cases, PSM is associated with certain normative orientations, such as the desire to serve the public interest and social equity. The affective-based motives have been relatively left out of the picture and are the least important of the three categories (Perry & Wise, 1990: 369); however ‘patriotism of benevolence’ seems to be grounded in one’s emotional state. This concept is defined by Frederickson & Hart (1985: 549) as ‘an extensive love of all people within our political boundaries and the imperative that they must be protected in all of the basic right granted to them by the enabling documents’. They argue that this represents a certain moral position, but according to Perry and Wise (1990: 369) it can also be seen as an emotional state, a willingness to sacrifice for others. In this light, the link to altruism is easily made; the ‘willingness of individuals to engage in sacrificial behaviors for the good of others without reciprocal benefits for themselves’. Perry and Hondeghem (2008: 5) quote François (2000: 276) on this: his meaning of PSM is employees providing ‘effort out of concern for the impact of that effort on a valued social service’. In addition, Julian Le Grand (2003: 35) states that ‘it was hard to dispute the view that altruistic motivations are prevalent among the providers of public services. But we must be careful how we interpret the evidence. Altruism exists alongside more self-interested motivations, and is combined with them to affect behaviour in different ways’. In essence, altruism appears to be an important part of the PSM-concept. However, it should be noted that the altruistic dimension appears to play a role in the US-setting; for the Netherlands, there are serious doubts on the relevance of the altruistic dimension (Steijn, 2006: 14) and application of Perry’s scale (1996; 1997).

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Kim et al. (2013) conducted research on the conceptual and operational definitions of PSM; their systematic approach combines efforts of various PSM scholars to develop an instrument to measure PSM. Their main argument is that across cultures and languages, the meaning and scaling of PSM dimensions may differ. Therefore, Kim et al. (2013: 82-83) introduce an adapted version of Perry’s (1996) model: Kim et al. (2013: 97) acknowledge the fact that across cultures and languages the exact meaning and scaling of PSM dimensions are likely to be different; PSM scholars should be aware when using findings and theories from other countries as these might differ from their situation. The Netherlands is mentioned being one of the countries where modification of the measurement scale is required. However, in the light of this research we will use the above dimensions to establish the presence of PSM amongst workers at the SSC; the measurement of PSM is not required as the nature of this research is not longitudinal. Perry (1996; 1997) identified four dimensions of PSM, which are related to the three types of motives. Wright & Pandey (2008:504) explain the link between these dimensions; for the rational motive, the ‘attraction to policy making’ dimension can be seen as a way to maximize one’s own needs of power and self-importance. • Attraction to Public Participation (Instrumental motives) • Commitment to Public Values (Value-based motives) • Compassion (Identification) • Self Sacrifice

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5.2 The Antecedents of (Public Service) Motivation

In order to understand what factors influence PSM, first we provide a short review of individual, organizational and cultural level factors influencing workers’ motivation; next we focus on antecedents of PSM. This chapter aims to provide insights in the mechanisms that influence motivation, and that an individual’s PSM is influenced by more than just the organization. What influences worker motivation? Worker motivation is a complex process, crossing many disciplinary boundaries, such as economics, sociology, human resource management, psychology and more. That what motivates workers consists of more than just simple organizational arrangements or fixed incentive schemes. Franco et al. (2002: 1256) argue that motivation should be approached in a holistic manner in order to be successful, allowing policy makers to structure reform programs in such a way these more effectively promote motivation amongst workers in an organization, and thus improve overall system performance. According to Perry (2000: 480-482) three different levels can be distinguished where motivation is influenced. Individual level At an individual level, alignment between individual and organizational goals and the perception of workers that they can carry out their tasks, leads to worker motivation. The willingness to devote time and effort to carry out their tasks is not merely a function of external factors but is influenced by the interaction of these factors with unique personal factors. Therefore, we can assume that motivation will differ amongst workers, even though they are in the same environment (Franco et al., 2002: 1257). Organizational level Organizations have various channels to influence worker motivation. These are ways in which the organizational structures and processes impact the two components of worker motivation. Reforms impact organizational structure, processes and resources, hence affecting motivation amongst workers (Franco et al., 2002: 1260). A rather invisible element herein is the organizational culture, which is “formed through interaction between the broader societal culture, organizational structures and personal characteristics of individuals that make up the organization.” (Franco et al. 2002: 1261). Grindle (1997: 482) defines organizational culture as "a shared set of norms and behavioral expectations characterizing a corporate identity", reinforced through organizational rituals. A reform operation can have a severe impact on the organizational culture by shifting the organizational goals and values associated with them, changing the role of specific leaders and by altering the position of various sub-groups and cultures. HRM practices, an organizational resource, are some of the elements responsible for the development of organizational culture (Giauque et al. 2015: 207). This impacts the employees’ perception of congruence between personal expectations and the work environment. The motivation of workers is also affected by their social embeddedness; they have the desire to provide good service and to be appreciated by their clients. Cultural level Moving the focus outside the direct organizational environment, the broader cultural and community context also influences an individual's motivation. To emphasize the relationship between culture and the influence on motivation, Franco et al. (2002: 1262) quote Schwartz (1997) on the definition of culture: "all the patterns of thinking, feeling and acting that are shared by the members of a society or other bounded social group".

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One of the aspects of culture is the existence of shared values, which contribute to a type of 'mental programming'. Franco et al. (2002: 1263) base their ideas on this subject about mental programming on the research of Hofstede (1980), who states that this programming frames the notion of an individual of what is possible, expected and what the consequences will be for having 'different' thoughts and behaviors. What are antecedents of public service motivation? To understand the motives of public sector workers, research focuses on the antecedents of public service motivation. In this section, an overview is provided of the theoretical insights on the antecedents of public service motivation. Much research over the years (Crewson, 1997; Wright & Pandey, 2008) has emphasized the fact that public sector workers place higher values on prestige, the importance of work and that public managers appear to have a higher need for achievement than do their private counterparts. However, most organizational reforms in the public sector strongly bow on extrinsic methods known from the private sector to motivate workers, such as pay-for-performance, results-oriented appraisal and a competitive element amongst workers (Giauque et al., 2015: 215). This seems to create a tension between the workers and the reform methods used. Research on the origins of PSM focuses on the backgrounds of these workers, the reasons why they develop PSM. In the work of Perry (1997: 182) some potential sources for the identification of these antecedents are mentioned. Amongst these sources is research on the four dimensions of PSM: attraction to public policy making, commitment to the public interest en civic duty, compassion and self-sacrifice. In his research (1997: 183-186), he focuses on five possible correlates: Of these five possible correlates, three tested significant for the inculcation of PSM (1997: 192). It seems that the role of parents, religion and professional identification are important antecedents. In addition to the work of Perry, Camilleri (2007) examined five categories of antecedents and their relation to PSM. The impact of the variables on PSM and its four dimensions is investigated for five categories of antecedents: personal attributes, role states (conflict and ambiguity), job characteristics, employee-leader relations and employee perception of the organization. Most important conclusion of Camilleri’s research (2007: 373) is that PSM amongst employees is mainly the result of the organizational environment that surrounds them. Dimensions of PSM Different types of antecedents that scholars have investigated can be related to the different domains as distinguished by Perry (2000: 481). Basis of his model is Bandura’s concept of ‘triadic reciprocal determinism’ (1986: 23); interaction between environmental influences, cognitive and personal factors and behavior. Perry (2000: 480) divides the variables into four different domains: • Parental socialization: parental modeling of altruistic behavior • Religious socialization: institution in which beliefs about obligations to others and the opportunity to enact are triggered (US-context) • Professional identification: constrained by tension between professional self-interest and the ideal of professional responsibility to higher ethical and moral standards • Political ideology: beliefs acquired through political affiliations • Individual demographic characteristics: education, age, income and gender • Sociohistorical context (environmental variables that shape individual preferences & motives: education, socialization, life events) • Motivational context (situational factors that influence behavior in organizations: institutions, job characteristics, organizational incentives & work environment) • Individual characteristics (abilities, competencies, self-concept, self-regulatory processes) • Behavior (rational choice, rule-governed behavior, obligation)

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Perry’s (2000) research links human behavior to the organizational context and society. The relationship between these factors is of importance to understand the motives of people working in public organizations. Moynihan and Pandey (2007: 46) offer strong support for the importance of the socio-historical dimension; they state that the organizational institutions influence and shape PSM. In their research, PSM is strongly related to education and membership of a professional organization. Vandenabeele (2011: 89) investigates the role of institutions as a source for antecedents; he states that institutions are responsible for the transmission of values from the institution to the individual. Not only are these institutions limited to the individual, such as family, religion and education, but they can also be stretched towards the organizational environment. Furthermore, he introduces ‘identity’ (2011: 90) as a core concept in the development of PSM; people act in accordance with institutional values as they have accepted these as their own. These findings emphasize the importance of the organization for the development of PSM. Furthermore, people in that organization identify themselves with that organization and take pride in organizational membership. When focusing on the relationship between PSM and organizations, Giauque et al. (2013: 123) categorize several HRM-practices that can be considered as organizational antecedents of PSM; fairness, professional development, feedback (or individual appraisal), job enrichment and participation. According to Giauque et al. (2013), these HRM-elements stimulate employees to believe that their employer is trustworthy and able to provide organizational support to achieve goals. Recent research on HRM-practices sustaining PSM by Giauque et al. (2015: 215) results in a list of positive antecedents of PSM; autonomy, participation in the decision-making, work-life balance, diversified work tasks and flexible work hours. Taking into account these elements might contribute to a more positive organizational environment, which in result might influence people working in that environment. Negative elements include red tape and job tenure (2015: 205). For this research, which focuses on the effects of the introduction of SSC’s in public organizations, the organizational context is most important. In Perry’s model (2000: 481) this dimension is called the ‘motivational context’. Together with the relevant antecedents found by other scholars, this will be input for the analysis.

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5.3 Organizational Impact on Public Service Motivation

In the previous chapters, the concept of public service motivation and the antecedents of PSM have been elaborated. This chapter focuses more specifically on the impact of organizations and organizational reform on PSM. The impact of organizations An organization can be viewed as an institution, where various elements interact. Vandenabeele (2007: 547) uses the institutional approach, set out by Guy Peters (2000: 18) about an institution: ‘a formal or informal, structural, societal or political phenomenon that transcends the individual level, that is based on more or less common values, has a certain degree of stability and influences behavior’. March and Olsen (1995) state that institutions do not only offer and constrain behavioral alternatives; they also model individual preferences up to a certain extent. According to Vandenabeele (2007: 547) this comes down to institutions that directly and indirectly determine the motives that guide individual behavior. The research conducted by Moynihan & Pandey (2007) is focused on the institutional shapers of individual beliefs and behavior, and investigate the organization’s effect on PSM. The theoretical basis of their research is provided by Perry (2000) using the research of March and Olsen (1989) to look at institutions; the assumption here is that institutions foster a ‘logic of appropriateness’ in the minds of individuals (instead of a rational choice logic of consequentiality), which causes individuals to develop PSM (Moynihan & Pandey, 2007: 41). According to Moynihan & Pandey (2007: 41-42), ‘work-related rules and norms are organizational institutions that shape not only the administrative behavior of public servants but also the basic attitudes that these actors hold about public service.’ Their main argument is that PSM may exist prior to the employees’ entry into the organization, but is also influenced by the organizational environment in which the employees find themselves. This approach is similar to the theoretical ideas on PSM, mentioned by Perry (2000), that rational, normative and affective processes motivate people. One of the assumptions made by Moynihan & Pandey (2007: 42) is that public organizations are more than just an output-producing unit; they are also social institutions in which people interact and influence each other in a certain (structured) context. Apparently, conforming to organizational norms appears to be an instance of the endogenous nature of individual preferences. March and Olsen (1989) observe that preferences, experiences, expectations and interpretations of the actions of others are all constructed within organizations. Employees construct beliefs and behaviors on basis of what is appropriate in their environment and the norms of others around them, therefore Moynihan & Pandey assume that public employees’ beliefs about public service are at least partly influenced by the nature of the organizations they work in. This assumption is also strengthened by the research done by Perry (1997, 2000) on the antecedents of PSM, in which he finds that socio-historical institutions socialize individuals and thus influence the development of PSM. In line with these findings, are the conclusions drawn by Vandenabeele (2011: 89) that institutions influence the transfer of values from the institution to the individual. Perry’s (2000: 480-481) motivational context frames these situational factors. In order to maximize the level of PSM amongst employees, the organization should provide the workers with clear goals, and with a prioritization of these goals no matter what the source of the worker’s instructions is (Camilleri, 2007: 373). One way of influence that is expressed by organizational institutions is by using HRM-practices. From the research of Giauque et al. (2013: 123) it becomes clear that extrinsic HRM-practices are rather limited in influencing motivation amongst civil servants. Furthermore they state that pay for

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performance negatively influences PSM. Giauque et al. (2013) provide us with several important suggestions for intrinsic HRM-practices that will contribute to increase motivation amongst civil servants and the performance of the organization. It appears to be the case that HRM-practices that aim to improve the working conditions can rely on a greater sensitivity amongst civil servants than those practices that use a monetary incentive. According to the research of Georgellis et al. (2011) the transition into the public sector is not significant, or even negatively influenced by elements of extrinsic rewards, such as earnings, job security and working hours. Georgellis et al. (2011: 487) state that person effects are more important than workplace effects; the latter is subject for further investigation. Referring to the research on crowding-out theory, they find evidence that higher extrinsic rewards actually reduce the tendency of workers that are intrinsically motivated to choose for organizations that offer such rewards. Organizational reform Even when the work environment is stable, what motivates workers differs over time. Reform, which can be seen as a change process, adds destabilization to the work environment, as the extent of a reform can lead through various elements of the organization; such as improvement of national policies and programs by altering priorities, regulations, laws, organizational structure and financial arrangements (Franco et al. 2002: 1256). In the work of Pandey, Wright and Moynihan (2008: 101-102) it becomes clear that reforms often pose a threat towards PSM. They acknowledge that recent public management reforms (contracting out, outsourcing, pay for performance) weaken the intrinsic motivations that lead to voluntary contributions of altruistic behavior. In most cases, these reforms were introduced into the organization under the premise of a better organizational performance, but in turn only led to the exclusion of PSM-type behavior. These behavioral types are difficult to measure and reward, but likely important to the effectiveness of the organization. Reform-movements neglecting the PSM-element of the organization will thus not contribute to an effective public organization. A similar warning comes from Camilleri (2006: 63), he concludes from literature review that PS-organizations have or are in a process of implementing reform in which not only practices, but also values from business organizations are adopted; for example, the use of financial rewards and incentives for fostering motivation. Although financial rewards are important for worker motivation, the public sector element comes into play; Franco et al. (2002: 1256) argue that an excessive focus on financial incentives could lead to negative consequences; the notion of public service values could come into conflict with working for financial gain. Houston (2000: 725) finds that public employees are more likely to accentuate the intrinsic reward of work (being important and providing a feeling of accomplishment) and less on the extrinsic motivators of work (such as high income and shorter working hours). He concludes that individuals employed in public organizations value different motivators than individuals working in private organizations. Furthermore, he states that managerial reforms based on extrinsic rewards are less successful in public organizations. Major critique is that reform techniques originating from private organizations fail to satisfy the public sector motives of public employees. When reforming public organizations, these basic assumptions should be taken into account (Houston, 2000: 725). Moynihan & Pandey (2007: 45-46) state that employee PSM is stimulated in organizations that focus on reforms that are beneficial to the public. In addition, Naff & Crumm (1999: 14) investigate the concept of PSM and suggest that employees that display a higher PSM are somewhat more positive towards organizational reinvention. They believe that this is caused by the fact that workers perceive these changes as improving the level of governmental service provision and a potential benefit for the public.

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Research not only suggest effects of organizational reform on PSM, but also - vice versa - effects of holding being public service motivated on support for organizational reform; which, in turn, is expected to affect long term motivation of employees. Wright et al. (2011: 6) state that employees with a higher PSM will be more likely to support organizational change as they assume that the change in the organization will be beneficial to the public. This is in line with the ideas of Perry & Wise (1990: 369), who state that employees with high PSM are more willing to sacrifice their own interests and preferences for the benefit of society. Furthermore, Wright et al. (2011: 7) emphasize the importance of communicating accurate and timely information about the organizational reform; it will not only emphasize the need for change, but also how the change will or will not affect their work. The organization can be seen as an institution that is more than just producing output. It is also a social institution in which people construct their beliefs and behavior and a place where their PSM might be influenced. For the organization, the use of certain (intrinsic) HR-practices, in combination with clear organizational goals and providing workers with stimuli focusing on intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, might influence the development of PSM-oriented behavior. Many reforms in the public sector have incorporated not only the practices, but also the values from the private sector, including the use of financial rewards. Various scholars agree on the fact that an excessive focus on financial incentives could lead to negative consequences in relation to public service values, especially since workers in public organizations value different motivators than their private counterparts. The concept of organizational reinvention is not negatively associated with PSM; as the changes could be beneficial to the public, PSM-motivated workers would be supportive for such organizational reforms. Furthermore, the accurate and timely communication of information about reforms will also contribute to the way workers accept organizational change and remain motivated. This chapter has set out the theoretical elements on the impact of organizations and the consequences of organizational reform on PSM. We now proceed to explain the specific reform-solution investigated in this case study: the SSC-model.

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5.4 Shared Service Centers

In this chapter, the concepts of the Shared-Service Centers (SSC) will be explained. The focus is to answer the question “What are Shared Service Centers and what are the advantages and disadvantages of this specific reform solution?”. Furthermore, the influence of this concept on people will be discussed. In this research, a group of municipalities cooperate to cutback costs, become more efficient and less vulnerable in terms of administrative effectiveness. Their solution is to introduce the SSC-model for generic services. Instead of each municipality having their own department, these are now combined into one organization that delivers these services to the various clients. The SSC-model practically comes down to a joint venture between municipalities. Janssen et al. (2009: 16) focus on a more analytical level to understand the SSC-concept: they seek to provide a definition on shared services: “the concentration of dispersed service provisioning activities in a single organizational entity”. These shared services constructions enable governments to focus on their core business rather than on routine administrative functions. The resources that are no longer needed to sustain these functions can be used for the organization’s core activities. This reform solution is especially popular for public institutions, as they seem to hold promising advantages. What are SSC’s and which types can be distinguished? According to Strikwerda (2007: 1), many different forms of Shared Service Centers exist. In this research, the SSC as part of the internal organization will be the form focused on. The SSC is a 'result responsible unit' in the internal organization of a firm, governmental organization or non-profit organization, assigned with providing one specific service or task (such as HRM, Financial, ICT, Sales) to the operational units of the organization, on the basis of an agreement, for a certain price. It is also possible that multiple organizations join to set up a shared service center, as for instance a group of municipalities using a SSC for the collection of taxes. Rather having each municipality invest in software, hardware and manpower, these costs can be shared and the collecting of taxes is organized from one place in the geographical area. An important distinction that has to be made is that between the staff unit and the SSC. The staff unit is a mandatory service provider, set in place by the board of directors, in order to exercise control over the organization's assets. The SSC is established for reducing costs, increasing quality of the internal service and for the exploitation of knowledge. The services provided by the SSC are charged to the business units or clients; those provided by the staff units are not. Strikwerda (2007: 82) provides six different forms of Shared Service Centers as is shown on the next page. The choice for each type of SSC is often a result of internal and external factors.

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Critical success factors and limitations Shared Service Centers are seen as organizational solutions to a variety of problems. In the municipal context, the most important are (Strikwerda, 2007:4): reducing costs of decentralized entrepreneurship, creating synergy, improving professional behavior and quality of supporting and executive processes and reinforcement of sharing knowledge and expertise throughout the organization. An overview of the SSC-types mentioned by Strikwerda (2007: 82) Forms of Shared Service Centers A: joint venture between business units B: infrastructure under control of the board of directors C: part of a staff unit D: department inside a division E: joint venture with an external organization (Ownership no longer limited to the organization) F: service firm (Ownership no longer limited to the organization, outsourcing organization’s relationship to the SSC is solely contractual)

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Strikwerda and Seesing (2004: 74) came up with a list of critical success factors originating from case study research for the introduction of Shared Service Centers. For our research, the five following are most important due to their impact on people and organization: • Development of understanding of the need for a SSC, based on the perspective of changes in the industry as a whole • Designing of an appropriate governance system, the design process and its outcomes must be used to discuss the new roles, capabilities and such with division managers, SSC managers and board members, being the core of the change process • Define policies with respect to the standardization of processes • Content and objectives of management development process should be adapted to the new roles and capabilities needed • Attention must be paid to the values held by, and psychological identification of workers in a SSC According to Janssen et al. (2009: 23) a shared service arrangement should not be seen as just a business model with particular implications. They state that many different variables influence the benefits and results of such an arrangement. As a result from their studies, they name several advantages of the SSC-arrangement: High levels of efficiency (costs, expertise), ability to save costs by reducing staff numbers, simplicity of the governance structure and the ability for municipalities to focus on their core business. Naturally, there are also limitations to the use of the SSC-model. Janssen et al. (2009:23) reported several drawbacks that can result from the introduction of SSC’s: an increase in response time, reduction in perceived service levels, the possible alienation of users and the public manager’s feeling of having less influence on the SSC management. People & SSC’s The increasing number of highly educated professionals has led to the ability to grow beyond the traditional hierarchical organization forms, and the ability has in turn led to the destitution of new forms. These professionals asked for a better working system, consisting of both vertical (as in a hierarchical, traditional organization) and horizontal accountability. This form would answer more to their self-image and capacities. For the organization, this means that the balance between imposed coordination and self-coordination can be shifted more towards the latter, which adds to the exploitation of synergy between operational activities. According to Strikwerda (2007), this self-coordination contributes to the self-image and self-esteem of the worker while reducing coordination costs within the organization. Specific management issues come into play while introducing SSC's. Strikwerda (2007: 10) specifies two issues that are important to our research: the motivation of the business manager and norms, values and the role of organizational culture. First of all, the implementation of SSC’s should not negatively influence motivation amongst the business unit managers. In certain cases, the creation of SSC's is intended to force business unit managers to focus their attention on the core business and not let their attention be drawn to back-office matters. Although the SSC-construct does not influence responsibility within the business unit, the primary response of the business manager is contrary to the introduction of SSC's, not due to the change in responsibilities, but the business manager gets more dependent on departments and colleagues over which he has not got any hierarchical influence. The creation of business units within the traditional hierarchical organization provided managers with the opportunity to operate more

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autonomous, with responsibilities for their own costs and profits. From his case-study research, Strikwerda (2007, 10-11) concluded that in many situations a great amount of effort is put in convincing the business unit managers on the benefits of the SSC method. In some cases this has led to postponing the organizational reform, but in most cases the implementation is unavoidable. Business managers resilient to change are, in some cases, replaced by those willing to change. The second important issue, according to Strikwerda, is that of norms, values and organizational culture. The SSC as functional or operational specialization has its own culture and thus norms and values. With the establishment of a SSC, managers frequently worry about the values of the organization in holistic terms, focused on the market, customers and the deliverance of a good service to the clients. In practical situations, a twofold can be distinguished. First of all, organizations emphasize that norms and values in the SSC are similar to those in the organization, in other situations, the necessity for an own organizational culture, matching the nature of the work and people in the SSC, is emphasized while fitting within the greater organizational context. Unique about the construct of SSC's is they are either market focused, innovative and functionally oriented; in shared service organizations all three values can coexist. For the organization, this does imply the importance to distinguish itself from other organizations in the market. The broader organizational values should be as wide as the organization itself; norms and values can be different within each department. The challenge for organizations using the Shared Service construction is to engage in working with a multilayered organizational culture (Strikwerda, 2007: 12). Rothwell et al. (2011: 241) state that the introduction of SSC-construct has been largely unnoticed by both the academic society and the public. They suggest that the nature and prosperity of the professions that were seen as integral support to the organization is about to be affected, with a large impact on the individuals working in those support functions. Several recent reports on the establishment of SSC’s in (public) organizations (KPMG LLP, 2008) emphasize that more attention should be paid to the career planning of employees, and the way in which they best fit into the organization. The introduction and use of the SSC-model for public organizations offers opportunities for a higher degree of professional development and a more efficient allocation of people, goods and funds. This allows the client-organizations to focus on their core activities. Many different variables are important for achieving positive results of introducing the SSC-model. Furthermore, a change in the composition of the workforce also requires a balance between imposed coordination and self-coordination, which in turn can influence or even stimulate worker motivation. This requires a delicate balance between a motivated manager (or management as a whole) and the right application of norms, values and organizational culture. The challenge thus far seems to be the creation of a multilayered organizational culture in which professionals can fulfill their role while being facilitated by the organization.

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6. Theoretical summary

In the existing literature, there is some knowledge of the influence of reforms on PSM. The influence of Shared Service Centers on PSM has not yet been researched. This paper investigates SSC as specific reform method and its influence on PSM. In order to analyze the interviews, an overview of the most important theoretical insights is required. With this in mind, the interviews can be used to establish a view about the workers, the organization and the implementation of the SSC-concept. The theoretical part of this paper exists of the following elements: • What is Public Service Motivation: a brief explanation of the concept of motivation, and motivation in a public context. According to Perry & Wise (1990), public service should be considered as more than merely a job and has roots in personal preferences to contribute to the public cause. These motives fall in three different categories; rational, norm-based and affective grounds. Furthermore the concept of worker motivation is explored; three levels can be distinguished where motivation is influenced: the individual, organizational and cultural level. • The antecedents of PSM: the background and personal characteristics of people that possess or develop PSM. To understand the motives, and the development of PSM amongst workers in the public sector, knowledge of their background is required. In light of this research, however, even more important is: • Organizational Impact on PSM: Organizations influence people and their behavior. Public organizations have the opportunity and responsibility to create an environment where workers get the feeling that they are contributing to society. Elements like work-related rules and norms contribute to the attitude of workers. Public organizations can also be seen as social institutions. When reforming organizations, these interacting elements change and might weaken the intrinsic motivation amongst workers. It is important for organizations to be clear about their motives for reforming and the potential benefit for the public that will result from this reform. • Shared Service Centers: A brief overview of the concepts and different forms of SSC’s, the requirements for the concept in order to be successful and the positive and negative consequences of implementing the SSC into the governmental organization’s structure are provided. This knowledge is important in order to understand the business-like reform solution in a public context and the influence on its workers. Furthermore, the impact on people in that organization is investigated. Finding the balance between the management, norms and values and organizational culture seems the biggest challenge for a successful organization. Preliminary answer: propositions on the impact of introducing SSC’s on PSM Based on the theory, a preliminary answer on the research question “What are the effects of implementing the SSC-model on employees’ Public Service Motivation?” can be provided. The research is explorative and ‘testing’ our theoretical insights will be done through a small empirical research in two organizations. Therefore, we prefer to provide the theoretical answer to our research question by formulated “propositions” on the impact of introducing SSC’s on the different dimensions of PSM.

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For each of the four dimensions of PSM classified by Kim et al. (2013: 82-83), an influence can be expected by the organizational change. For the category ‘attraction to public participation’ or instrumental motives, we expect that workers have less influence on their work as the new working method include ‘Service Level Agreements’ in which the exact description of the work is stated. Furthermore, due to the higher degree of specialization in a larger, functionally oriented organization, the autonomy of the worker will be reduced. These two elements are likely to have a negative impact on a person’s PSM in terms of attraction to public policy/participation. The second dimension of PSM, ‘public interest / commitment to public values’, is based on the values people hold. In institutions, a certain ‘logic of appropriateness’ (Moynihan & Pandey, 2007: 41-42) is present. This influences individual beliefs and behavior; as well as the importance people attach to the public cause. By establishing a new organization, the values of both the old and new organization will be present in the beginning. Over time, these values will merge into a new environment, shaping the ‘logic of appropriateness’. Challenge for the organization is to establish an atmosphere in which the intrinsic reward of work is included and public values are central to all its employees. This dimension of PSM is therefore strongly dependent on the specific organization. In most situations, people that have worked in public organizations prior to their work at the SSC, will possess a certain value-set that is more or less compatible with the prevailing values in the SSC. Therefor we expect no influence of the introduction of SSC on the PSM-dimension commitment to public values. For the dimension ‘compassion’, the relationship between provider and client is formalized and becomes less direct. Therefore, the worker could experience lower feelings of compassion as work is delivered on basis of a contract. At the other hand, the basis of the work remains the same and only the organizational side of things has changed. This could also result in only little or no change in this factor. Therefor we expect negative or no influence of the introduction of SSC on the PSM-dimension compassion. For the element of self-sacrifice, the link to altruism is made in the theory. It is difficult to assess to what extent the individual altruistic characteristics will be influenced by an organizational reform. It is possible that people will maintain the same level of self-sacrifice, as they are still working for a public organization. It is also possible that they experience a greater distance between their position and the trigger of their altruistic behavior. This will be largely dependent on personal and situational factors. Therefor we expect negative or no influence of the introduction of SSC on the PSM-dimension self-sacrifice.

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7. Analysis

In this chapter, the results of the qualitative research in two organizations are presented. After a short presentation of the cases studied, first, the presence of (different dimensions of) PSM is discussed. Next, three important aspects that arise from the empirical data are presented, comparing the two cases (organizations) studied. In the next chapter (chapter 8), a discussion of these results – linking back to the theory - will be provided.

7.1 Cases: SP71 & SCD

Case 1. Organization in progress: Servicepunt 71 The Servicepunt 71 (SP71) is a Shared Service Center (SSC) that started on the 1st of January 2012. The organization is owned by the municipalities of Leiden, Leiderdorp, Oegstgeest and Zoeterwoude, which have a combined inhabitant count of over 177.000 people. Services provided by the SSC are ICT, a purchasing department, financial matters, HRM, judicial affairs and facility management. The people that worked at those departments in the municipal organizations were required to apply for a job at the SP71, as their position ceased to exist. A selection committee evaluated all requests and selected and placed the workers at the SP71. Its owners, who also provide members for the board of the SSC, control the SSC. This board appoints the four members of the daily management of the SP71. In the SP71-case, all interviewed workers were employees of the founding municipalities. The interviews took place during the summer of 2013, when the SSC has been operational for 18 months. In some cases, the interviews were combined and multiple workers attended the session. In total, seven workers at the SP71 and one external advisor have been interviewed. Case 2. Successful implementation of the SSC-model: Service Centrum Drechtsteden The Service Centrum Drechtsteden (SCD) is a Shared Service Center, which started its operations on 1st of April 2008. It is a jointly owned organization by six municipalities: Dordrecht, Papendrecht, Zwijndrecht, Sliedrecht, Alblasserdam and Hendrik-Ido Ambacht. Together, these municipalities count 270.000 inhabitants and are geologically separated by the waterways Beneden-Merwede and Noord. That is a mutual advantage, but also includes border-crossing issues that urge the municipalities to work together. Services delivered by the SCD encompass ICT, facility and information management, personnel and organization management, finances and purchasing, judicial knowledge center and communication services. Workers at the separate municipalities that worked in those areas were required to apply for a position at the SSC. After a selection procedure, they were employed by the SCD. The SCD is part of the Joint Agreement Drechtsteden that includes other organizations, such as the Social Services Drechtsteden, Engineering Office Drechtsteden, Municipal taxes & registration office, Research Centre Drechtsteden and the Bureau Drechtsteden. All these organizations provide services to the municipalities in the Drechtsteden area. Three years after the establishment of the SCD an external evaluation took place to assess the SSC’s performance. The results were presented in the summer of 2011. As a result, a reorganization called ‘fijnstructuur’ was started in which the bottlenecks of the first reform (the establishment of a SSC can also be seen as a reform-movement) were addressed. In total, six workers at the SCD have been interviewed in September 2013.

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7.2 Comparison: Organizational Reality

The goal of this analysis is to investigate the effects of implementing the SSC-model on PSM in two cases; in addition there might also be some recommendations for the future introduction of SSC-like constructs in public organizations. Comparing a more experienced SSC with a relatively new one might result in some valuable insights that can contribute to the understanding of the organization’s impact on PSM. Presence of PSM During the interviews, civil servants of both organizations expressed thoughts and feelings that can be empirically related to the various dimensions of PSM. The first dimension, ‘attraction to public policy making / public participation’, identifies the extent to which people are involved in policy making. Workers seem to be aware of the changed environment in terms of service delivery and the fact that they work in a more business-like environment: “Well, it is for the better (…) and the SSC is certainly an improvement. (…) not everybody is capable of working at the SSC, you’ll have to declare hours, you’ll have due dates etc. But the world has changed, that would have also been the case when you would have remained at the municipality. You’ll just have to do more for less (SP5)”. “Personally, I feel that delivering the best possible service to the citizen is important, and that it is not about money, but I also understand that isn’t the way the world works. But sometimes it feels unnatural to work this way. Then I still want to do what’s best for the people, for the citizens, and at those times, I just feel like I’m hitting a brick wall; then there’s no money, or no time or no priority (SCD2)”. Some workers are more direct when it comes down to contributing to a better public service and do not experience a negative impact as result from the introduction of the SSC: “I don’t believe there’s any difference (working in the SSC-concept), if you want to be serving the public than the way it is done doesn’t matter (SCD1)”. The second dimension ‘public interest / commitment to public values’ is related to value-based or normative motives amongst civil servants. Commitment to the job and the related duties also can be related to this dimension. Some workers explicitly emphasize the contribution to society: “You should be asking yourself ‘what is the added value of my work, what is the meaning of it for society?’. With the purpose of creating a shared culture, and think about the meaning of work. Whether or not this is the place for me, and if this is a cause I would like to contribute to (SCD4)”. In other cases, workers at the SSC emphasize the professional dimension of their work, and the importance of the ‘publicness’ of their work: “I’m working on a project for various municipalities (…) Leiden is my village, and I just want to do the right thing, the professional honor is very important. (…) the public interest is important, and that thought is deliberate. There is no problem with using business-like working concepts but we are still dependent of the political factor (SP4)”. “What I do experience, and that feeling has increased over the past years, is that inefficiency in the organization bothers me. I really got that feeling that the money spent is mine too. It is unlawful, looking from the system of wages, but also towards society. It is not your own money that’s being spent here, it is society’s: we’re talking about the citizen here (SCD6)”. The third dimension of PSM is ‘compassion’, the extent to what workers identify themselves or feel connected to the citizen. Feelings of empathy, sympathy and compassion to the citizens’ position all belong to this dimension. During the interviews some workers expressed feelings that can be related to the affective dimension of PSM:

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“It is a matter of how to communicate the change, it has to be embedded in a bigger picture and explained why that change is necessary. People accept a lot when you explain the reasons for a certain change. They’re a group of people with their own spirit, heart for the public cause, and that causes a certain reciprocal effect (SP2)”. “Deep within my heart I would just like to work for the municipality, all that bureaucratic hassle around declarable hours, that has made things more complex. But on the other hand, you must be honest, that’s not just the SSC. You could return to the municipal setting, but times have changed there as well. That’s just reality (SCD2)”. At some points, workers use the interview to express their frustration to the formalization of the relationship between client and provider, and show compassion to the citizen: “Being a public jurist means having an intrinsic motivation, for the public interest. Paid with public funds for the benefit of the citizen. And that citizen has been placed more in the background in the concept, he’s no longer the center of attention. Things have gotten too large, too bureaucratic (SCD3)”. The fourth dimension specified by Kim et al. (2013) is the dimension of ‘self-sacrifice’. The most important associated value is that making a difference for society is more important than achieving personal goals. Most interviewees indicate that the emphasize in work has moved from effort towards results-oriented: “It’s a company, the client decides what the standard will be. And we’ll have to live up to that, and the SSC puts a price tag on that. But that is not the case when you’re working with a municipality. There you’ll just do your job and you’ll get your money. But here, it is more a reward for performance than a reward for effort (SP6)”. That appears to be visible in the other SSC as well: “Culture here was (at the municipal office) that we’re going to finish this job as a group, we’ll manage. But that has changed, you’ll have to show what you’ve done, in terms of hours etc (…) sometimes that’s against my nature (SCD2)”. “I feel like a cogwheel in a large machine, but I also get a lot of satisfaction from my work, referring to the legal contents of it. And the concept of the SSC suits me, and I like the diversity (SCD3)”.

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