CHAPTER 3 HYPOTHESES, MODELS AND METHODS
3.1 Hypotheses and Models
3.1.3 Servant Leadership, Employees' Public Service Motivation and
motivational framework of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Chiniara and Bentein (2016a) found that competence need satisfaction mediated effect of servant leadership on task performance only. Based on the above analyses, the following hypothesis was proposed:
Hypothesis 2c (H2c): Employee's public service self-efficacy mediates the positive influence of servant leadership on employee service performance.
Figure 3.2 Hypothesis 2a, Hypothesis 2b and Hypothesis 2c
3.1.3 Servant Leadership, Employees' Public Service Motivation and
Using the experimental setting of the public goods game, Esteve and colleagues (2016) found a positive relationship between PSM and prosocial behavior. The behavior of other group members moderates the relationship: people with higher PSM act more prosocial behavior when the other group members express prosocial behavior, however, they do not do so if other members of the group are not prosocial. Based on a systematic literature review of PSM from 2001 to 2015, Adrian Ritz and others (2016) reported the empirically tested outcomes of PSM. Among them, individual performance ranked third with 26 articles (10.9 percent), 15 of which showed that PSM positively affect personal performance, while the remaining 11 had no or no significant impact. Based on the above literature analyses, the following hypothesis was proposed:
Hypothesis 3b（H3b） ：Employees' public service motivation positively affects employee service performance.
(2) The relationship between service leadership and employees' public service motivation. According to social learning theory (Bandura, 1977b; Albert Bandura, 1986), employees acquire knowledge and behaviors mainly through enactive learning and observational learning. In both cases, servant leadership can influence employees' motivation.
The fourth process of observational learning is motivational processes. An observer may acquire a model behavior through observational learning. However, he may not necessarily perform it in practice. The observer translates the learned results into action only when there is a positive behavioral trigger. In observational learning, there are direct incentives, substitution incentives and self-generated incentives to determine whether the observer performs modeling behaviors (Bandura, 1977b;
Bandura, 1986). The direct inducement is that the modeling behavior itself leads to some kind of rewarding outcome, and the observer performs the modeling behavior because of the intrinsic motivation to pursue such a reward. In the public sector, leaders and organizations reward public service behaviors through the design of reward system, and employees' pursuit of such reward will induce service motivation. The substitution incentive is that the rewarding outcome of the modeling behavior of the model is also an incentive for the observer's behavior. The effect of substitution incentive was especially pronounced when the observer had the same or similar characteristics as the model. The service behaviors of servant leaders will contribute to their achievement
promotion and career development, which will in turn stimulate employees' service motivation. Self-generating inducement means that the observer's emotional evaluation or value evaluation of the modeling behavior and its results will also trigger the observer's motivation to perform the service behavior. If the observer is interested in or thinks highly of the modeling behavior and its results, the reproduction of the modeling behavior will be induced. Servant leaders spread the service spirit and values advocated by the society and the organization to employees through words and deeds (M. G.
Ehrhart, 2004; R. C. Liden et al., 2008; R. C. Liden et al., 2015). With the recognition of employees, it is bound to help improve their service motivation.
The cognition of employees also has motivational function in the enactive learning.
Bandura argued that people not only respond to behavior and observe its consequences but also have the symbolizing capability. Therefore, people can abstract the causality between behavior and result from the previous behavior response and behavior result.
Through the symbolizing memory of the causal relationship between behavior and result, individuals will form the belief and expectation that certain behavior will lead to certain results. When an individual expects an outcome, he first matches it with the symbolic system stored in his memory. When similar result symbols and matching behaviors are found, the individual will believe that the desired results will be obtained just such behaviors are taken. Thus, individuals will be motivated to act accordingly (Bandura, 1977a; Bandura, 1986). Servant leaders are committed to helping employees grow and succeed (M. G. Ehrhart, 2004; R. C. Liden et al., 2008; R. C. Liden et al., 2015). Employees will gradually establish a causal link between servant behaviors and successful outcomes. When they expect further growth and success, the service motivation will be stimulated.
In addition, there are empirical studies on the relationship between service leadership and employee service motivation. Based on a survey of 477 employees working in large state-owned institutions, Wright, Hassan, and Park (2016) reported that managers with higher PSM are more probable to be perceived as ethical leaders by their employees. Managers expressing higher ethical leadership are more probable to have employees with higher PSM. Based on the above literature analysis, the following hypothesis was proposed:
Hypothesis 3a (H3a): Servant leadership positively affects employees’ public service motivation.
(3) The relationship between servant leadership, employee' public service motivation and employee service performance.
Based on the above theoretical literature, this study can further assume that servant leadership affects the employee service performance via their public service motivation.
There is some empirical literature supporting this hypothesis. By a multilevel analysis of multi-source data of a Chinese government institution, G. Schwarz, Newman, Cooper, and Eva (2016) revealed that followers’ public service motivation (PSM) positively mediated servant leadership and followers’ job performance. Based on the above analyses, the following hypothesis was proposed:
Hypothesis 3c (H3c): Employees' public service motivation mediates the positive influence of servant leadership on employee service performance.
Figure 3.3 Hypothesis 3a, Hypothesis 3b and Hypothesis 3c
3.1.4 Servant Leadership, Organizational Service Climate and Employee