Prospects of Mortality Salience for Promoting Sustainable Public Sector Management: A Survey Experiment on Public Service Motivation

Zhanyu Liu, Zishu Ma and Yuqiong Lei ()
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Zhanyu Liu: School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Zishu Ma: School of Public Administration, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
Yuqiong Lei: School of Public Administration, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-18

Abstract: The United Nations has established 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a global initiative to achieve a more sustainable future. Within these goals, SDG16 emphasizes the significance of sustainable public sector management, which profoundly influences the accomplishment of other SDGs. Enhancing public service motivation is a critical element in advancing sustainable public sector management. This study explores the potential of mortality salience as an intervention to bolster public service motivation, aiming to provide valuable insights for SDG16. Specifically, the study investigates the varied effects of mortality salience on public service motivation using a survey experiment and employs machine learning techniques. The findings reveal a significant positive impact of mortality salience on public service motivation. Furthermore, this study highlights that this impact is more prominent in organizations characterized by high levels of servant leadership and extrinsic rewards, as well as low levels of organization-based self-esteem. These findings have practical implications for fostering sustainable public sector management in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.

Keywords: public service motivation; mortality salience; sustainable development; terror management theory; machine learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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