Striking a Balance: The Role of Value Congruence in Shaping Employee Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intentions

Abstract

The past two decades have seen a rapid growth in scholarship on public service motivation. So far, findings indicate the concept bears considerable theoretical and empirical warrant. That said, several surprising inconsistencies have been identified in public service motivation research. These inconsistencies have prompted scholars to argue models relying on public service motivation as a key explanatory factor should also consider how well employees fit with their organizations--commonly referred to as value congruence. However, there are relatively few public service motivation studies that incorporate value congruence. Moreover, these studies have viewed congruence rather narrowly, considering only a limited number of factors that may plausibly be influenced by employee fit. Consequently, this study builds upon earlier theory to examine a broader range of factors that may shape employee value congruence, including public service motivation, employee reward satisfaction, human capital investments, hierarchical authority, and goal and role ambiguity. The study further assumes high levels of value congruence will increase employee job satisfaction and reduce employee turnover intentions. Data collected in Phase IV of the National Administrative Studies Project (NASP-IV) is used to test three research questions and 15 hypotheses. Results confirm the significance of the value congruence concept, and further suggest value congruence mediates the relationships between public service motivation, human capital investments, goal and role ambiguity, and organizational hierarchy on employee job satisfaction. Higher levels of job satisfaction are associated with diminished employee turnover intentions. Interestingly, employee reward satisfaction had no effect on value congruence, but instead directly influenced turnover intentions. Results also suggest certain organizational positions and socio-demographic factors repeatedly influence study findings. The study concludes by offering potential avenues for future research.