Public versus Private: Not That Different, Not That Consequential

There are several differences between the public and private sectors which are referred to frequently in the public administration literature. However, there are few studies which verify these differences. This article reports the findings from a study of three “classic” differences between the public and private sectors that are relevant to public personnel management. It also examines the impact of these differences on employee motivation. The findings indicate that the classic differences do exist, but are not as substantial as the literature would lead one to believe. They also indicate the public-private differences do not have a substantial impact on employee motivation.