Public Value at Cross Points: A Comparative Study on Employer Attractiveness of Public, Private, and Nonprofit Organizations

A commonly held assumption is that public service motivation (PSM) positively affects individuals’ attraction to government, but there are also private and nonprofit organizations beneficial the common good. Therefore, goal of this study shed light on an understudied topic in Public Administration, namely, how value public, private, their attractiveness citizens PSM moderates relationship. We find employer strongly influenced by organizations’ regardless sectoral affiliation. This attribution interacts with citizens’ PSM. For high-PSM individuals, relationship between stronger than for low-PSM individuals. Furthermore, high exercises asymmetric effect, punishing low more sector. These results highlight important implications HR practitioners all three sectors seeking attract retain highly motivated employees.