Sangmook Kim
Biographic Data
| ID | 4384920 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sangmook Kim |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sangmook |
| FAMILY NAME | Kim |
| SIGNATURE | KIM S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Seoul National University of Science and Technology |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0777-6878 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 432 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1995 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Managerial Functions and Public Service Motivation Among Early-Career Public Servants
Research has shown that levels of public service motivation (PSM) among public employees tend to decrease in their early years of employment in Korea. This study examines specific managerial functions in maintaining and enhancing PSM among early-career public servants. It utilizes a sample of 5,627 public servants with less than 5 years of service, drawn from pooled cross-sectional data from three annual surveys (2022–2024) of the Public Employee…
Connected Yet Distinct
Over the past seven decades, South Korea has developed a distinctive trajectory in its public administration (PA) through balancing the domains of research, education, and engagement with government. Our analysis shows that it embodies a connected yet distinct character, closely linked to Western administrative science and global PA scholarship, yet continually reshaped by Korea's bureaucratic culture, Confucian legacies, and pragmatic governance…
Public service motivation and public sector employment in Korea
This study aims to investigate whether individual differences in public service motivation (PSM) between the public and private sectors are a cause or a consequence of choosing a job, testing self‐selection and socialization hypotheses using a longitudinal dataset from a nationally representative cohort in Korea. The study uses two samples from the data of three successive waves (t − 2, t, t + 2) surveyed biennially, finding that “self‐selection”…
Partial Metric Invariance of the International Measure of Public Service Motivation among Twelve Countries
Kim et al. (2013) developed a four-dimensional 16-item measure of public service motivation (PSM), but it failed to achieve metric invariance across the 12 countries studied. When metric invariance is at least partially established, empirically tested antecedents and outcomes of PSM in one country can be compared with those in other countries. This study re-tests the cross-country equivalence of the international PSM measure, using the same datas…
The Role of Social Norms on Public Service Motivation and Prosocial Behavior
Social norms are regarded as customary rules that govern behavior in society but little is known about how social norms affect PSM and prosocial behavior. The purpose of the current study is to figure out the role of social norms on PSM and prosocial behavior through testing two theoretical models: one hypothesizes that social norms moderate the relationship between PSM and prosocial behavior; another predicts that social norms directly affect bo…
Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Work Engagement
The present study examines the antecedents of street-level bureaucrats’ work engagement. In particular, this study investigates whether a work-unit manager’s servant-leader orientation may, directly or indirectly, contribute to increasing subordinates’ work engagement by shaping employees’ resources (i.e., job autonomy, goal specificity, public service motivation [PSM], and organizational trust). Data collected from 416 street-level bureaucrats i…
Particularized Trust, Institutional Trust, and Generalized Trust
This study attempts to resolve two issues in social trust research: the negative or positive effect of particularized trust (PT) and the causality between institutional trust (IT) and generalized trust (GT). It analyzes two types of data from South Korea: pooled data of cross-sectional national probability surveys; and online experimental three-wave panel data. Analyses of cross-sectional data suggest new classifications of trust types, family tr…
Education and Public Service Motivation
Prior studies examined an individual's level of education as one of the antecedents of public service motivation (PSM). Despite having the same level of education, why are the levels of PSM different among individuals? This study investigates the various components of high school education that may influence graduates' levels of PSM by analyzing longitudinal data (3,592 cases in four waves) of the Korean Education Longitudinal Study. It shows tha…
National culture and public service motivation
Much research has focused on finding and explaining the antecedents, correlates, and outcomes of public service motivation (PSM), but little is known about the influence of national context on individuals’ PSM. Previous research suggests that national culture may exert an independent influence on individuals’ PSM. This article examines PSM as an individual-level variable that is related to national culture, which is represented by Hofstede’s cult…
National Culture and Social Desirability Bias in Measuring Public Service Motivation
Much of what we know about public service motivation comes from self-report measures. However, self-report questionnaires are vulnerable to social desirability bias due to respondents’ tendencies to answer in a more socially acceptable way. This is a problem as social desirability bias threatens the validity of the measure. This study investigates whether characteristics of national culture influence social desirability bias during surveys on pub…
Investigating the Structure and Meaning of Public Service Motivation across Populations
The growth in international research on public service motivation (PSM) raises a number of important questions about the degree to which the theory and research developed in one country can contribute to our understanding of PSM in other counties. To help address this issue, this study revisits the conceptual and operational definitions of PSM to address weaknesses previously noted in the literature. Although some important steps have been taken …
Does Person‐Organization Fit Matter in the Public ‐Sector? Testing the Mediating Effect of Person‐Organization Fit in the Relationship between Public Service Motivation and Work Attitudes
Public service motivation theory suggests that public service motivation is positively related to work attitudes, but person‐organization fit theory assumes that person‐organization fit completely mediates the relationship between public service motivation and work attitudes of public employees. This article investigates which theory better predicts attitudes toward work, such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment of public employees,…
Testing a Revised Measure of Public Service Motivation
Public service motivation (PSM) is perceived as a multidimensional construct, as an overall, unobserved latent variable with various latent dimensions. The present study focuses on the relationships between PSM and its dimensions. The purposes in this study are to confirm a set of revised items as indicators of a rational base of PSM, to compare a four-factor model with various three-factor models, and to analyze whether PSM is defined as a forma…
A Strategy for Building Public Service Motivation Research Internationally
As public service motivation research grows qualitatively and quantitatively, some scholars question its appropriateness for international applications. This essay sets out a strategy of convergence for international research and measurement approaches. Studies that assess commonalities in public service motivation content internationally are analyzed in order to develop a broader conceptual and more operational definition as well as consequently…
Testing the Structure of Public Service Motivation in Korea
Public service motivation (PSM) assumes that civil servants are characterized by an ethic to serve the public. Perry identified a multidimensional scale to measure PSM with four components: attraction to policy making (APM), commitment to public interest, compassion, and self-sacrifice. But there is little research on the generalizability and applicability of the dimensions and scale of PSM in the other countries. This study tests whether the str…
Revising Perry's Measurement Scale of Public Service Motivation
J. L. Perry (1996) identified a 24-item multidimensional scale to measure public service motivation (PSM). But the measurement scale of PSM is not fully examined. On the basis of Perry's items, S. Kim (in press) produced a 14-item scale of four factors, but the dimension of attraction to policy making (APM) in the second-order model is doubtful. The present study revises the questionable items of the APM dimension into more positive and relevant …
Women and family-friendly policies in the Korean government
This paper discusses the desires and realities of women and family-friendly policies in the Korean government. The implementation of policies for gender equality during the past two decades has increased the ratio of women in the civil service. As the number of women in the government has increased, family-friendly policies have been provided for civil servants to balance work and personal life. Family-friendly policies are expected to positively…
Public service motivation and organizational citizenship behavior in Korea
Purpose – The main theme is to investigate whether the distinct classes of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) such as altruism and generalized compliance are shown in the Korean context, and whether public service motivation, job satisfaction and organizational commitment are predictors of OCB in Korean civil servants.
Gender Differences in the Job Satisfaction of Public Employees
Individual-Level Factors and Organizational Performance in Government Organizations
In this journal, Rainey and Steinbauer proposed a theory of effective government organizations, and Brewer and Selden conducted an empirical study with data from the 1996 Merit Principles Survey that confirmed most hypothesized relationships in the theoretical model of organizational performance. Following these studies, this study focuses only on the individual-level factors, such as job satisfaction, affective commitment, public service motivat…
Budgetary Process and Bureaucratic Control
Investigating the Structure and Meaning of Public Service Motivation across Populations
The growth in international research on public service motivation (PSM) raises a number of important questions about the degree to which the theory and research developed in one country can contribute to our understanding of PSM in other counties. To help address this issue, this study revisits the conceptual and operational definitions of PSM to address weaknesses previously noted in the literature. Although some important steps have been taken …
Individual-Level Factors and Organizational Performance in Government Organizations
In this journal, Rainey and Steinbauer proposed a theory of effective government organizations, and Brewer and Selden conducted an empirical study with data from the 1996 Merit Principles Survey that confirmed most hypothesized relationships in the theoretical model of organizational performance. Following these studies, this study focuses only on the individual-level factors, such as job satisfaction, affective commitment, public service motivat…
Testing the Structure of Public Service Motivation in Korea
Public service motivation (PSM) assumes that civil servants are characterized by an ethic to serve the public. Perry identified a multidimensional scale to measure PSM with four components: attraction to policy making (APM), commitment to public interest, compassion, and self-sacrifice. But there is little research on the generalizability and applicability of the dimensions and scale of PSM in the other countries. This study tests whether the str…
Testing a Revised Measure of Public Service Motivation
Public service motivation (PSM) is perceived as a multidimensional construct, as an overall, unobserved latent variable with various latent dimensions. The present study focuses on the relationships between PSM and its dimensions. The purposes in this study are to confirm a set of revised items as indicators of a rational base of PSM, to compare a four-factor model with various three-factor models, and to analyze whether PSM is defined as a forma…
Revising Perry's Measurement Scale of Public Service Motivation
J. L. Perry (1996) identified a 24-item multidimensional scale to measure public service motivation (PSM). But the measurement scale of PSM is not fully examined. On the basis of Perry's items, S. Kim (in press) produced a 14-item scale of four factors, but the dimension of attraction to policy making (APM) in the second-order model is doubtful. The present study revises the questionable items of the APM dimension into more positive and relevant …
National Culture and Social Desirability Bias in Measuring Public Service Motivation
Much of what we know about public service motivation comes from self-report measures. However, self-report questionnaires are vulnerable to social desirability bias due to respondents’ tendencies to answer in a more socially acceptable way. This is a problem as social desirability bias threatens the validity of the measure. This study investigates whether characteristics of national culture influence social desirability bias during surveys on pub…
Gender Differences in the Job Satisfaction of Public Employees
Women and family-friendly policies in the Korean government
This paper discusses the desires and realities of women and family-friendly policies in the Korean government. The implementation of policies for gender equality during the past two decades has increased the ratio of women in the civil service. As the number of women in the government has increased, family-friendly policies have been provided for civil servants to balance work and personal life. Family-friendly policies are expected to positively…
National culture and public service motivation
Much research has focused on finding and explaining the antecedents, correlates, and outcomes of public service motivation (PSM), but little is known about the influence of national context on individuals’ PSM. Previous research suggests that national culture may exert an independent influence on individuals’ PSM. This article examines PSM as an individual-level variable that is related to national culture, which is represented by Hofstede’s cult…
Particularized Trust, Institutional Trust, and Generalized Trust
This study attempts to resolve two issues in social trust research: the negative or positive effect of particularized trust (PT) and the causality between institutional trust (IT) and generalized trust (GT). It analyzes two types of data from South Korea: pooled data of cross-sectional national probability surveys; and online experimental three-wave panel data. Analyses of cross-sectional data suggest new classifications of trust types, family tr…
Budgetary Process and Bureaucratic Control
Individual-Level Factors and Organizational Performance in Government Organizations
In this journal, Rainey and Steinbauer proposed a theory of effective government organizations, and Brewer and Selden conducted an empirical study with data from the 1996 Merit Principles Survey that confirmed most hypothesized relationships in the theoretical model of organizational performance. Following these studies, this study focuses only on the individual-level factors, such as job satisfaction, affective commitment, public service motivat…
Gender Differences in the Job Satisfaction of Public Employees
Public service motivation and organizational citizenship behavior in Korea
Purpose – The main theme is to investigate whether the distinct classes of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) such as altruism and generalized compliance are shown in the Korean context, and whether public service motivation, job satisfaction and organizational commitment are predictors of OCB in Korean civil servants.
Revising Perry's Measurement Scale of Public Service Motivation
J. L. Perry (1996) identified a 24-item multidimensional scale to measure public service motivation (PSM). But the measurement scale of PSM is not fully examined. On the basis of Perry's items, S. Kim (in press) produced a 14-item scale of four factors, but the dimension of attraction to policy making (APM) in the second-order model is doubtful. The present study revises the questionable items of the APM dimension into more positive and relevant …
Women and family-friendly policies in the Korean government
This paper discusses the desires and realities of women and family-friendly policies in the Korean government. The implementation of policies for gender equality during the past two decades has increased the ratio of women in the civil service. As the number of women in the government has increased, family-friendly policies have been provided for civil servants to balance work and personal life. Family-friendly policies are expected to positively…
Testing the Structure of Public Service Motivation in Korea
Public service motivation (PSM) assumes that civil servants are characterized by an ethic to serve the public. Perry identified a multidimensional scale to measure PSM with four components: attraction to policy making (APM), commitment to public interest, compassion, and self-sacrifice. But there is little research on the generalizability and applicability of the dimensions and scale of PSM in the other countries. This study tests whether the str…
A Strategy for Building Public Service Motivation Research Internationally
As public service motivation research grows qualitatively and quantitatively, some scholars question its appropriateness for international applications. This essay sets out a strategy of convergence for international research and measurement approaches. Studies that assess commonalities in public service motivation content internationally are analyzed in order to develop a broader conceptual and more operational definition as well as consequently…
Testing a Revised Measure of Public Service Motivation
Public service motivation (PSM) is perceived as a multidimensional construct, as an overall, unobserved latent variable with various latent dimensions. The present study focuses on the relationships between PSM and its dimensions. The purposes in this study are to confirm a set of revised items as indicators of a rational base of PSM, to compare a four-factor model with various three-factor models, and to analyze whether PSM is defined as a forma…
Does Person‐Organization Fit Matter in the Public ‐Sector? Testing the Mediating Effect of Person‐Organization Fit in the Relationship between Public Service Motivation and Work Attitudes
Public service motivation theory suggests that public service motivation is positively related to work attitudes, but person‐organization fit theory assumes that person‐organization fit completely mediates the relationship between public service motivation and work attitudes of public employees. This article investigates which theory better predicts attitudes toward work, such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment of public employees,…
Investigating the Structure and Meaning of Public Service Motivation across Populations
The growth in international research on public service motivation (PSM) raises a number of important questions about the degree to which the theory and research developed in one country can contribute to our understanding of PSM in other counties. To help address this issue, this study revisits the conceptual and operational definitions of PSM to address weaknesses previously noted in the literature. Although some important steps have been taken …
National Culture and Social Desirability Bias in Measuring Public Service Motivation
Much of what we know about public service motivation comes from self-report measures. However, self-report questionnaires are vulnerable to social desirability bias due to respondents’ tendencies to answer in a more socially acceptable way. This is a problem as social desirability bias threatens the validity of the measure. This study investigates whether characteristics of national culture influence social desirability bias during surveys on pub…
National culture and public service motivation
Much research has focused on finding and explaining the antecedents, correlates, and outcomes of public service motivation (PSM), but little is known about the influence of national context on individuals’ PSM. Previous research suggests that national culture may exert an independent influence on individuals’ PSM. This article examines PSM as an individual-level variable that is related to national culture, which is represented by Hofstede’s cult…
Education and Public Service Motivation
Prior studies examined an individual's level of education as one of the antecedents of public service motivation (PSM). Despite having the same level of education, why are the levels of PSM different among individuals? This study investigates the various components of high school education that may influence graduates' levels of PSM by analyzing longitudinal data (3,592 cases in four waves) of the Korean Education Longitudinal Study. It shows tha…
Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Work Engagement
The present study examines the antecedents of street-level bureaucrats’ work engagement. In particular, this study investigates whether a work-unit manager’s servant-leader orientation may, directly or indirectly, contribute to increasing subordinates’ work engagement by shaping employees’ resources (i.e., job autonomy, goal specificity, public service motivation [PSM], and organizational trust). Data collected from 416 street-level bureaucrats i…
Particularized Trust, Institutional Trust, and Generalized Trust
This study attempts to resolve two issues in social trust research: the negative or positive effect of particularized trust (PT) and the causality between institutional trust (IT) and generalized trust (GT). It analyzes two types of data from South Korea: pooled data of cross-sectional national probability surveys; and online experimental three-wave panel data. Analyses of cross-sectional data suggest new classifications of trust types, family tr…
Partial Metric Invariance of the International Measure of Public Service Motivation among Twelve Countries
Kim et al. (2013) developed a four-dimensional 16-item measure of public service motivation (PSM), but it failed to achieve metric invariance across the 12 countries studied. When metric invariance is at least partially established, empirically tested antecedents and outcomes of PSM in one country can be compared with those in other countries. This study re-tests the cross-country equivalence of the international PSM measure, using the same datas…
The Role of Social Norms on Public Service Motivation and Prosocial Behavior
Social norms are regarded as customary rules that govern behavior in society but little is known about how social norms affect PSM and prosocial behavior. The purpose of the current study is to figure out the role of social norms on PSM and prosocial behavior through testing two theoretical models: one hypothesizes that social norms moderate the relationship between PSM and prosocial behavior; another predicts that social norms directly affect bo…
Public service motivation and public sector employment in Korea
This study aims to investigate whether individual differences in public service motivation (PSM) between the public and private sectors are a cause or a consequence of choosing a job, testing self‐selection and socialization hypotheses using a longitudinal dataset from a nationally representative cohort in Korea. The study uses two samples from the data of three successive waves (t − 2, t, t + 2) surveyed biennially, finding that “self‐selection”…
Managerial Functions and Public Service Motivation Among Early-Career Public Servants
Research has shown that levels of public service motivation (PSM) among public employees tend to decrease in their early years of employment in Korea. This study examines specific managerial functions in maintaining and enhancing PSM among early-career public servants. It utilizes a sample of 5,627 public servants with less than 5 years of service, drawn from pooled cross-sectional data from three annual surveys (2022–2024) of the Public Employee…
Connected Yet Distinct
Over the past seven decades, South Korea has developed a distinctive trajectory in its public administration (PA) through balancing the domains of research, education, and engagement with government. Our analysis shows that it embodies a connected yet distinct character, closely linked to Western administrative science and global PA scholarship, yet continually reshaped by Korea's bureaucratic culture, Confucian legacies, and pragmatic governance…
Political science (17 works) · Psychology (15 works) · Public Policy and Administration Research (14 works) · Public Service Motivation (13 works) · Business (12 works) · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior (11 works) · Public sector (11 works) · Social Psychology (10 works) · Marketing (9 works) · Public relations (9 works)