ATTRACTION TO PUBLIC POLICY‐MAKING: A QUALITATIVE INQUIRY INTO IMPROVEMENTS IN PSM MEASUREMENT

This article presents improvements for the dimension of ‘Attraction to Public Policy‐making’ within the Public Service Motivation measurement scale. The literature concerning the theory behind this and a large number of empirical studies point out the shortcomings of this dimension with regard to both the contents and the methodology employed. This article deals in depth with the aspect of ‘Attraction to Public Policy‐making’ and, in contrast to the work carried out to date, tackles the open questions using a qualitative research strategy. The analysis of 21 partially structured interviews, which were conducted with administrative employees at the local government level, demonstrates that, while the empirical findings confirm the contents of the original dimension, the items selected for this in previous research are insufficient and can lead to measurement problems. This article suggests specific items for validation and improved measurement to be applied in future research.