Motivated to serve, conflicted to commit? Reassessing career satisfaction and publicness in the public service motivation–commitment nexus

This study examines how the alignment between career placement and organisational context conditions the relationship between public service motivation (PSM), career satisfaction, and organisational commitment in structured public employment systems. Drawing on survey data from 299 newly recruited senior public servants and follow-up interviews with 42 participants, the analysis shows that career satisfaction is the key pathway through which motivation translates into commitment, but that this pathway varies systematically across service roles. Specialists are more likely to report strong alignment and sustained commitment when placed in organisations with limited direct public exposure, whereas generalists more often experience motivational misalignment that constrains commitment. Qualitative evidence further indicates that perceived opportunities to influence governance and policy, conceptualised as realised publicness, shape how individuals evaluate their careers. These findings challenge the assumption that PSM operates uniformly across institutional settings and underscore the importance of deliberate career placement for sustaining motivation, commitment, and retention in public sector organisations.