Profiles of Public Service-Motivated Civil Servants: Evidence from a Multicultural Country

Abstract

This study analyses if and to what extent culture, associational membership, social trust, civic participation, and political ideology explain the PSM level of civil servants. On the basis of a representative sample of 3,754 municipal employees from the German- (79 percent) and the French-speaking (21 percent) parts of Switzerland, this study offers three striking pieces of empirical evidence. First, the social profile of the respondents is different for each PSM dimension: “Attraction to politics and policymaking” is mostly influenced by political participation and sympathy for political parties; “Commitment to the public interest ” by culture and social trust; “Compassion” by clear-cut political positioning; and “Self-Sacrifice ” by volunteering and religiosity. Second, socio-political variables add an important contribution to the explanation of the first three dimensions. And third, cultural belonging has an important effect on the level of PSM.