The Effects of Political Factors on Public ServiceMotivation: Evidence from the Lebanese Civil Service

Elias A. Shahda
University of Gloucestershire

The widespread infusion of pro-market and business management
principles into the public sector has impeded the behavior of civil servants
who are motivated by intrinsic motives, not external ones. Besides, the
infusion of such principles caused great threats to basic values of the civil
service, like equity, fairness, justice, accountability, impartiality, political
neutrality, public welfare, and other values related to the public sector.
From here, public service motivation (PSM) emanates as a reaction
against these principles/techniques in the civil service. PSM has been
studied in different developed countries; however, it was almost ignored in
developing countries, especially Arab states. This study focuses on two
significant under-theorized areas: the conceptualization of PSM in the
Lebanese civil service, and the identification of an external dimension
(political factors) and its role in facilitating or obstructing the
development of this construct.