Motivated to serve: An empirical examination of motivation and consequences in the public and nonprofit organizations

This article draws upon a sample of nonprofit and state government managers to examine the role that service motivation plays in both sectors. The research addressed three main questions: 1) what are the main motivational types and constructs of managers in the public and nonprofit sectors? 2) what differences exist between these sectors in terms of level of motivation? And 3) what are the long-term and short-term consequences of different types of motivation? Our findings suggest that in many ways public and nonprofit managers are similar in terms of the importance of intrinsic versus extrinsic rewards. Public and nonprofit managers show both of the similarities and differences in terms of the consequences of motivation leading to increased job engagement and increased civic and volunteer activity. The results provide further evidence about relations among the antecedents, moderators, and consequences as well as the role of motivation, mentoring, and interpersonal communication. Additionally, our research also points to important moderating factors such as mentoring and interpersonal communication that may act to increase both motivation and enhance outcomes. Implications of this research are also discussed [END – This paper will definitely be revised. Your comments are appreciated. Please email [email protected] or [email protected] ]