公共服務動機：回顧、反思與未來方向

Public Service Motivation: Review, Reflection, and Reorientation

在上世紀末美國政府的信任危機的背景下，同時也是對公共選擇理論的反思，「公共服務動機」（public service motivation, PSM）的概念於1990年被正式提出並迅速成為公共管理研究的焦點議題。本研究回顧了過去25年快速增長的文獻，發現PSM在定義與測量方面出現了不一致的問題。現有文獻中，PSM被賦予23種以上的定義以及42種以上的測量方式，這難免對未來的研究者造成困惑。進一步分析發現，PSM常常被界定為利他動機、親社會動機或內在動機，同時被注入了價值、信念及態度等諸多要素，不只在內涵上失去獨特性，定義上更偏離了動機本身的意義。鑒於PSM在華人社群被關注程度不斷升高，華人社會的研究者應用更謹慎與批判的眼光看待這個議題；我們並認為，未來研究或許該更大膽地捨棄當代文獻中根基於Perry（1996）的定義與測量，並讓其回歸其最原始的樣貌：「驅動公共服務行為的動機」。因為公共服務行為具多樣性，公共服務動機並不應該有一個放諸四海皆準的量表，故我們建議未來的研究應該基於成熟的動機理論，如「自我決定理論」（self-determination theory, SDT），根據不同行為而發展出不同類型的測量方式，並審慎地開展未來數年的本土化研究。

The public's trust in the US government has declined significantly since the 1960s. In 1990, Public Service Motivation (PSM) was introduced as a 'steering mechanism' and reflection of public choice theory. PSM literature has increased at a rapid pace over the last 25 years, and has become one of the hottest research topics in the field of public administration. Despite its quick growth, the conceptualization of PSM is unclear. PSM has been defined in 23 ways with 42 different measures. In addition, values, beliefs and attitudes are mixed with existing PSM definitions, making PSM less of a motivation. To study PSM in the future, scholars should focus on the literal meaning of PSM: ＂motivations for public service behaviors.＂ As public service behaviors are not limited to a single category, scholars may want to develop multiple tools of measurement tailored for different public service behaviors. Self-determination theory (SDT), we suggest, can be more widely applied.