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AbstractOver the past 30 years, red tape has emerged as a key concept in public management. Yet, researchers continue to debate the relative merits of system‐centric versus individual‐centric approaches. In this article, we articulate an individual‐centric psychological process theory, a theory that confronts the 'modularity assumption' relegating the subjective individual experience as inconsequential in much red tape research. We theorize that the appraisal mechanism influences the meaning attached to external compliance demands. Our process theory advances the claim that experience, emotion, and expectancy influence one's perceptions of, and behavioral response to, red tape. Thus, compliance expectations in rules are informed by other social demands embedded in roles, identities, and collective interests in ways that influence the perceived legitimacy of rules and the compliance burdens they impose. The psychological process theory offers a holistic perspective on red tape by treating the subjective individual experience as consequential for understanding red tape.

Nombreuses sont les recherches qui soulignent l'importance de la congruence entre les valeurs du personnel et celles de l'organisation. Pourtant, malgré les preuves que la congruence des valeurs influence bel et bien les principaux résultats individuels et organisationnels, plusieurs failles énormes subsistent dans la recherche. Nous tentons ici d'enrichir les connaissances existantes dans le domaine de la gestion publique par divers moyens : (1) en examinant si et comment la congruence des valeurs influence l'engagement affectif du personnel à l'égard de l'organisation et (2) en répondant aux récents appels lancés aux chercheurs pour qu'ils expliquent les processus par lesquels la congruence des valeurs façonne les opinions et le comportement du personnel. Nos résultats, qui s'appuient sur des données dyadiques compilées sur un échantillon de cadres supérieurs dans des gouvernements locaux américains, indiquent que la congruence des valeurs est associée à des niveaux plus élevés d'engagement affectif à l'égard des organisations. En outre, la congruence des valeurs est encore plus importante dans les cas où il existe des niveaux plus élevés d'ambiguïté des objectifs. Remarques à l'intention des praticiens Les conclusions de l'étude ont plusieurs implications pratiques pour les gestionnaires publics. Premièrement, les résultats indiquent que les gestionnaires doivent reconnaître et prendre en compte les perceptions du personnel quant à l'ambiguïté des objectifs organisationnels s'ils espèrent le retenir. À cette fin, les gestionnaires feraient bien de concevoir les objectifs de concert avec leur personnel ; le processus de cocréation des objectifs peut contribuer à limiter l'ambiguïté. Deuxièmement, les gestionnaires doivent créer des systèmes de communication solides qui acceptent les désaccords et reconnaissent l'importance d'un dialogue efficace sur la nature des objectifs. Enfin, les gestionnaires doivent fournir un retour d'information sur les objectifs à intervalles réguliers afin d'aider le personnel à comprendre les attentes.

A substantial body of research underscores the importance of congruence between employee and organizational values. Yet, despite evidence that value congruence affects key individual and organizational outcomes, several gaping holes still exist in the research. We add to existing public management scholarship by: (1) examining whether and how value congruence affects an employee's affective organizational commitment; and (2) responding to recent calls for scholars to clarify the processes through which value congruence shapes employee attitudes and behavior. Drawing on dyadic data compiled on a sample of senior managers in US local governments, results indicate that value congruence is associated with higher levels of affective organizational commitment. Additionally, value congruence is even more important in instances when higher levels of goal ambiguity are present.Points for practitionersStudy findings have several practical implications for public managers. First, results indicate that managers must acknowledge and account for employees' perceptions of organizational goal ambiguity if they hope to retain employees. To this end, managers would do well to design goals in concert with their employees; the process of co-creating goals may help limit ambiguity. Second, managers must create robust communication systems that welcome disagreement and recognize the importance of effective dialogue on the nature of goals. Finally, managers should provide feedback on goals at regular intervals in order to help employees understand expectations.

The application of psychometric statistical techniques, such as confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, has grown significantly in public administration research over the past three decades. Given the growth in the application of these techniques, we take stock of the ability of these statistical approaches to advance public administration theory by examining their use in two areas of research: public service motivation and red tape. We further argue that theoretical and methodological diversity in public administration is desirable, so long as scholars recognize that the application of new and multiple methods in a single study do not inherently lead to better tests of theory. Instead, scholarship should focus on emphasizing that each theoretical and methodological approach adds significant, yet partial, contribution to public administration scholarship.

A considerable body of research substantiating the importance of workforce diversity to public organizations has accrued over the past two decades. However, research on workforce diversity has also been narrow in scope and frequently fails to link diversity to important individual and organizational outcomes. Using data (n = 1,109,134 employees from 500 sub-agencies) collected in three waves (2010, 2011, and 2012) of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), this study examines whether (1) increased diversity influences organizational goal clarity, (2) diversity and goal clarity, in turn, influence employee job satisfaction, and (3) diversity management policies influence job satisfaction by clarifying organizational goals for workers. FEVS is administered yearly by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and is designed to assess whether and to what extent federal employees believe the characteristics of successful organizations are present in their agency. Results from a multi-level structural equation model (MSEM) suggest diversity is associated with greater goal clarity and that diversity management policies, by clarifying organizational goals, positively affect job satisfaction. Findings also indicate that the type of diversity matters.

Interest in public values has grown considerably over the past two decades. Much of this attention reflects a growing awareness that public values hold considerable significance for citizens and public employees. Yet, despite the rapid expansion of research on public values, we still know little about the role of race in shaping and determining public employees' values preferences. To begin remedying this gap, this article examines whether minority and white public managers in large US local governments exhibit the same value preferences when making departmental decisions. Results from a multiple group confirmatory factor analysis indicate that minority and white managers express similar preferences for traditional public administration values; however, minority managers report a stronger preference for both traditional public administration (e.g., efficiency and effectiveness) and social equity‐oriented (e.g., equity, representation) values.

AbstractIn this article, we examine several situational factors that condition the relationship between public service motivation (PSM) and organizational behaviours. Specifically, we examine how the receipt of gratitude and appreciation is associated with the complex relationships between PSM, work attitudes and turnover intent. We analyse the conditional indirect effects from PSM to turnover intent with a series of structural equation models using data from the 2010 US Merit Systems Protection Board. Our findings indicate that the relationship between PSM and blaming others for diminished performance capacity is moderated by feeling appreciated, which conditions the indirect relationship to turnover intent. In other words, increases in PSM appear to lead individuals to internalize diminished performance capacity and remain with their organization as long as they believe their work is appreciated. These findings provide guidance for structuring feedback to capitalize on the benefits of PSM.

While the presence and degree of workplace stress poses a significant problem for organizations in all sectors, scholarship frequently acknowledges that responses to workplace stress vary significantly across individuals. However, public sector human resource management (HRM) research, relative to generic HRM research, invests comparatively less attention toward understanding individual differences in response to perceived stressors. We employ the relational model of stress developed by Matteson and Ivancevich and Lazarus to examine how one dispositional characteristic commonly examined in public sector HRM research, public service motivation (PSM), influences the stress process. Results obtained using data from the 2010 U.S. Merit Principles Survey reveal that individuals with higher than average PSM experience more pronounced negative emotions when they perceive heightened workplace conflict, which subsequently increases their intent to separate from the organization.

While HRM scholars have built a rich body of knowledge regarding emotional labor (EL), we know comparatively less about the social origins of EL components and individual outcomes in government work contexts. To address this gap, we employ conservation of resources theory to examine how one prominent social institution within government organizations, labor unions, influence the process through which EL shapes one individual-level outcome, emotional exhaustion. We also draw from the process model of EL developed by Brotheridge and Lee to evaluate one specific countervailing resource, person-job fit. Results obtained using data from the 2016 U.S. Merit Principles Survey suggest that unionization indirectly increases emotional exhaustion via increases in the perceived need for false face acting. While unionization does not have a direct relationship with person-job fit, perceived increases in the need for false face acting contributes to emotional exhaustion by reducing person-job fit.