职业声誉感知何以影响基层公务员公共服务动机:被调节的中介模型

How the Professional Reputation of Grassroots Civil Servants Affects Their Motivation for Public Service: A Moderated Mediating Model

近年来,基层公务员压力增大,在转型攻坚期如何保持基层干部为人民服务的意愿是亟须解决的问题。与工作压力等挑战相比,当前对基层公务员精神层面的声誉压力和认同建设关注不足。在从事高利他性工作过程中,公众的声誉评价反馈是否会影响基层公务员服务公众的意愿?基于该问题,本研究依据社会认同理论,探析基层公务员职业声誉感知对其公共服务动机的影响机制及其边界条件。本研究采用了实验(研究一)和调查(研究二)两种研究设计检验概念模型。研究一发现,职业声誉感知对基层公务员公共服务动机具有正向影响,职业认同在此关系中起到正向中介作用。研究二在重复验证研究一结果的基础上,发现工龄负向调节了职业认同对职业声誉感知与公共服务动机关系的中介作用,对于工龄较短的基层公务员而言,职业声誉感知通过职业认同影响公共服务动机的间接效应更强。本研究基于社会认同理论,发现了声誉和认同在基层干部队伍建设中的重要作用,丰富了公共服务动机前因机制研究,扩展了职业声誉和认同的研究领域。

The issue of promoting motivation for public service among grassroots civil servants in China during the period of transition requires immediate resolution.Compared with material challenges,mental pressure of grassroots civil servants(e.g.,the reputation pressure and identification crisis)have received insufficient attention.In some situations,the noble work of grassroots civil servants has not gained the social reputation it deserves.In the process of engaging in highly altruistic work,will public evaluation feedback affect the willingness of grassroots civil servants to serve the public?To answer this question,based on the theory of social identity,this research analyzes the psychological mechanisms and boundary conditions of grassroots civil servants’perceptions of their professional reputations on their motivation for public service.We use a combination of experiment(study 1)and survey(study 2)designs to test the conceptual model.Experimental research helps to verify the causal connection between the constructs and to ensure internal validity,while the survey design ensures the external validity of the research.The combination of the two helps to improve the robustness of our research results.Based on a between-subjects experiment(study 1 a)and a within-subjects experiment(study 1 b),we find that perceptions of professional reputation have a positive impact on the public-service motivation of grassroots civil servants,and professional identity plays a mediating role in the relationship between perceptions of professional reputation and motivations for public service among grassroots civil servants.At the same time,study 2,using a survey method,repeatedly verifies the above conclusions and finds that the length of service of grassroots civil servants negatively moderates the mediating effect of professional identity on the relationship between perceptions of professional reputation and motivations for public service.Among grassroots civil servants with a shorter length of service,perceptions of a professional reputation have a stronger indirect effect on motivations for public service through one’s professional identity.The present study makes some theoretical and practical contributions,reflected primarily in the following.First,this study confirms the interactive nature of motivation for public service and explores the antecedent mechanism of public-service motivation from the perspective of activation of motivation.Second,this study finds that when grassroots civil servants perceive a good reputation,their motivation for public service will increase.This conclusion explains the important role of reputation in the development of a team of grassroots cadres and expands the field of research on reputation.Third,this research reveals the different psychological mechanisms among grassroots civil servants with different lengths of service to evaluate their reputations,and the conclusion expands our research on length of service in the public sector.In addition,based on the theory of social identity,this research confirms the mediating role of professional identity in the relationship between perceptions of professional reputation and motivations for public service,thus expanding the research field of professional reputation and identity.