Impact of Public Service Motivation on Employee Performance: A Cross-Country Comparison of Pakistan and China Public Sectors

This paper explores the impact of public service motivation (PSM) on performance in different sectors of Pakistan and China’s governments. It discusses how reward systems—team-oriented and individual-oriented as well as cultural variables moderate the PSM–performance relationship. Grounded in Vroom’s Expectancy Theory, the study examines how PSM drives employee performance across contrasting cultural contexts. Evidence indicates that Chinese employees, influenced by collectivist culture, prefer team-oriented rewards, whereas Pakistani employees slightly favor individual rewards. The findings help design motivation and performance incentives to optimize employees within diverse cultural and public-sector environments.