When Does Public Service Motivation Fuel the Job Satisfaction Fire? The Joint Moderation of Person–Organization Fit and Needs–Supplies Fit

Given the mixed findings regarding the direct effect of public service motivation on job satisfaction, we theorize that the relationship is moderated by the joint effects of person–organization fit and needs–supplies fit. Based on 623 full-time public employees in China, our results reveal a significant three-way interaction effect: employees have higher job satisfaction when public service motivation, person–organization fit, and needs–supplies fit are all high, but lower job satisfaction when public service motivation, person–organization fit, and needs–supplies fit are all low. Moreover, public service motivation fuels the job satisfaction fire when both person–organization fit and needs–supplies fit are low.