An Empirical Study on Public Service Motivation of the Next Generation Civil Servants in China

Abstract

Why do the Chinese university students choose government jobs instead of private companies? Do they have similar job motivations as those who are seeking private sector jobs? Surprisingly, literature on public administration in China has rarely posed this question despite China’s adoption of the civil service system since 1993. Specific examination of public service motivation (PSM) literature also revealed a lack of empirical studies on the public service spirit of potential public sector employees. This article analyzes the differences in job motivations between public and private job seekers using survey data of 329 Chinese university students from the Peking University, Renmin University, Fudan University, and Nankai University. The results suggest that both private and public job seekers commonly rank “stable and promising future,” “high salary,” “chance to exercise leadership,” and “high prestige and social status” as the most important motivators. Notwithstanding the commonality, public job seekers, especially female students, show higher public service spirit than private job seekers.