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This article draws on a sample of city managers, assistant city managers, and department heads in U.S. local government jurisdictions to examine whether theoretical assertions about the relationships between performance-related pay, public service motivation, and employee job satisfaction hold empirical merit. Contrary to theoretical expectations, findings from an ordered logistic regression and a series of Monte Carlo simulations suggest performance-related pay is associated with greater job satisfaction, especially among employees who possess stronger public service motives. Results also suggest variable pay may be particularly important to employees who have lower levels of public service motivation.

Public organizations rely extensively on sources of support -- political and otherwise -- external to themselves to ensure continued success in meeting policy goals. The resource-dependent nature of political-administrative relations can create performance problems for organizations, especially when perceptions of political support decline. Previous literature demonstrates how low levels of political support may amplify goal ambiguity for organizations in the public sphere. We argue that these organizations benefit from hierarchical authority, which can diffuse environmental uncertainties (such as those associated with increased goal ambiguity) to maintain performance. We develop a test of this claim using data collected in Phase II of the National Administrative Studies Project Findings confirm a contingent model of performance in which low political support and increased goal ambiguity are counteracted by varying degrees of internal hierarchical authority. Adapted from the source document.

This study proposes and tests a model of affective organizational commitment that seeks to capture aspects of the unique institutional context of public organizations. An analysis of survey data from seven public sector organizations suggests external control increases organizational goal ambiguity and two types of bureaucratic red tape, which, in turn, negatively affects affective commitment. Although personnel red tape has a direct adverse impact on affective commitment, procurement red tape is not found to have a significant effect. Organizational goal ambiguity's influence on affective organizational commitment, however, is mediated through its effect on centralization and role ambiguity. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of these relationships and possible explanations for instances when findings are not consistent with expectations.