Why Public Service Motivated Government Employees Experience Varying Job Satisfaction Levels Across Countries: A Meta-analysis Emphasizing Cultural Dimensions

Research spanning 33 years establishes a robust link between government employees' Public Service Motivation (PSM) and job satisfaction (JS). Recent studies explore how national culture influences this connection across diverse cultural clusters. However, the complexity of national culture necessitates a closer examination of its dimensions within each country. Drawing from 53 studies spanning 16 regions (1990–2022), our findings demonstrate that the PSM-JS relationship tends to be more pronounced in Eastern groups than in Western counterparts, but with substantive variations. Consequently, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity emerge as key cultural predictors. We offer nuanced insights into the role of cultural dimensions in shaping PSM and its sub-dimensions. Additionally, we present a list detailing the estimated strengths of the PSM-JS link in various countries, providing valuable insights for practitioners and future research endeavors.