Does public service motivation matter? A study of participation in various volunteering domains

Abstract

This article examines the extent to which public service motivation (PSM), more specifically the PSM dimension commitment to the public interest (CPI), is related to volunteering. The claims for the relationship between PSM and volunteering have rarely been supported by evidence based on direct measurements of PSM. Using data from a large representative sample of public and semi-public sector employees in the Netherlands, we show that CPI is positively related to volunteering. This relationship is stronger for participation in some volunteering domains than in others. We suggest that public interest committed employees seek out volunteering opportunities that match their motivation and that the extent to which voluntary organizations espouse public service ideals may explain the differential strength of the relationship between employees’ CPI and their participation in different volunteering domains. This finding is relevant for voluntary and nonprofit organizations which need to attract volunteers to keep up welfare services.