H^sub 4^: Self-efficacy has a direct positive effect on work motivation.
H^sub 5a^: Job-goal difficulty has a direct positive effect on work motivation.
H^sub 5b^: Job-goal difficulty has an indirect negative effect on work motivation through its influence on employee self-efficacy.
H^sub 6a^: Job-goal specificity has a direct positive effect on work motivation.
H^sub 6b^: Job-goal specificity has an indirect positive effect on work motivation through its influence on employee self-efficacy.
Research Methodology
Sample Selection and Survey Administration
The data used to test this model were collected from a survey of a large New York State agency with approximately 2,200 employees. The survey was administered by a group of external consultants on site, with each employee given a designated time and place to take the survey. Questionnaires were completed and returned by 1,895 employees, for an 86.9 percent response rate. Most previous research on public service motivation has focused on public sector managers and professionals; therefore, respondents were included in this study only if they self-identified with these occupational categories and the pay grades typically associated with that type of work (at or above salary grade 18).4 Using these criteria, data from 807 employees were included in the analysis.
Measures
The self-administered survey instrument was designed to elicit information on employee perceptions of job characteristics, the work environment, human resources management practices, turnover intentions, and job alternatives, as well as demographic information. Wherever possible, the study variables were measured using items from previous measures. Employee work motivation was measured using three items from Patchen's (1970) motivation scale representing intensity and direction of effort, and a fourth item measuring persistence of effort from Baldwin's (1991) adaptation of that scale. Self-efficacy was measured using three items taken from a scale of effort-performance expectancy (Sims, Szilagyi, and McKemey 1976), job-goal specificity was measured using two items adapted from a role ambiguity scale (Beehr, Walsh, and Taber 1976), and job-goal difficulty was gauged using a three-item measure similar to that employed by Wright (2004).