The interactive influence of public service motivation, perceived reward equity, and prosocial impact on employee engagement: a panel study in Pakistan

We examine independent and joint influences of public service motivation (PSM), job prosocial impact, and job reward equity on public employee engagement. Using panel data collected from 56 public managers in Pakistan, we find that managers with high levels of PSM feel more engaged when they experience high reward equity but low job prosocial impact or when they experience high job prosocial impact but low reward equity. Managers with low to moderate levels of PSM, however, report being more engaged when both job reward equity and job prosocial impact are high. These findings provide a nuanced understanding of how PSM affects public employee engagement.