 Park, S. & Word, J. (2012). Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector. International Review of Public Administration, 17(3), 169-206

Abstract

Competition for employee talent is important to the success of any organization, including those in the nonprofit sector. This research examines the motivational and demographic characteristics of nonprofit managers in order to gain a better understanding of these managers that may ultimately inform both practice and theory. This research examines 1) job choice motivation, 2) intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and 3) demographic and organizational factors affecting individuals working for the nonprofit sector. Subsequently, our model proposes that job choice motivation comprises intrinsic motivation and three types of extrinsic motivation, and examines the organizational antecedents and social outcomes of motivation to work in the nonprofit sector. The findings
suggest that individuals who work in the nonprofit sector are intrinsically motivated in terms of job choice. Furthermore, personal characteristics such as gender, age, ethnicity, type of job, and level of education impact
both job choice motivation and the level of intrinsic motivation.

Full text

© International Review of Public Administration
2012, Vol. 17, No. 3 169
SERVING THE MISSION:
ORGANIZATIONAL ANTECEDENTS AND SOCIAL
CONSEQUENCES OF JOB CHOICE MOTIVATION IN
THE NONPROFIT SECTOR
SUNG MIN PARK
Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea
&
JESSICA WORD
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA
Competition for employee talent is important to the success of any
organization, including those in the nonprofit sector. This research
examines the motivational and demographic characteristics of nonprofit
managers in order to gain a better understanding of these managers that
may ultimately inform both practice and theory. This research examines 1)
job choice motivation, 2) intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and 3)
demographic and organizational factors affecting individuals working for
the nonprofit sector. Subsequently, our model proposes that job choice
motivation comprises intrinsic motivation and three types of extrinsic
motivation, and examines the organizational antecedents and social
outcomes of motivation to work in the nonprofit sector. The findings
suggest that individuals who work in the nonprofit sector are intrinsically
motivated in terms of job choice. Furthermore, personal characteristics
such as gender, age, ethnicity, type of job, and level of education impact
both job choice motivation and the level of intrinsic motivation.
Key Words: human resource management, public service motivation,
public sector motivation; job choice motivation, community
involvement, nonprofit agencies

INTRODUCTION
In recent years, public service has been broadened to include not only those working
directly for government but also other forms of employment that serve the community.
This has manifested in an increasing interest in governance rather than government
(Brinkerhoff and Brinkerhoff, 2002) and complex interrelationships between nonprofits
and governments. The argument that the motivation of the public sector workforce was
introduced at a time when government was still responsible for direct service delivery,
but “new public management” created an emphasis on “steering rather than rowing” that
has dramatically altered the nature and shape of public service today. The traditional
model of public service being delivered to citizens by government employees protected
by civil service provisions only applies to modern public administration in very limited
settings. Most delivery of public services is now done through contracts carried out by
either for-profit or nonprofit organizations that share some but not all of the
characteristics of traditional public service. In fact, more recent examinations of public
service motivation have tended to include nonprofit human service workers and
managers in examinations of public service motivation without exploring possible
underlying differences between the sectors (Lyons, Duxbury, and Higgins, 2006).
The motivation and choice of career path of individuals in the public and for-profit
sectors have been well explored (Rainey and Steinbauer, 1999; Park and Rainey, 2007;
Perry and Wise, 1990; Boyne, 2002; Wright, 2001). However, very few studies have
examined the motivation of nonprofit employees to choose a career serving the
community. This research seeks to determine the factors influencing the decision of
managers to work in the nonprofit sector and how these choices are impacted by intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation of individuals. The findings of this research will allow for a
deeper understanding of what makes the nonprofit sector and its employees unique.
Additionally, we examine the impact of job choice motivation on social, community, and
professional outcomes.
Recent research conducted by Word and Park (2009) suggests that employment
within the public and nonprofit sectors is somewhat unique. Their research found that
nonprofit managers are more involved in their jobs than public sector managers.
Additionally, Feeney and Bozeman (2008) found that nonprofit managers work longer
hours than their public sector counterparts due to cultural differences between the sectors.
These findings, however, are somewhat counterintuitive, since theories based on
economic rationality (e.g., rational choice, new public management, and principal-agent
theories) suggest workers in both sectors lack ownership or profit incentive (Kim and
Mahoney, 2005) and therefore face lower power incentive to make efforts beyond their
required job duties. This leaves us wondering what drives nonprofit managers to work
longer hours and display higher levels of job involvement than their public sector
counterparts. Previous research suggests that important organizational factors, including
170 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

incentives, motivation, rules and regulations, strategies, processes, and the working
environments in public organizations, might be strikingly different from those in both
for-profit and nonprofit agencies and result in the observed differences in job
involvement and work habits (Rainey and Bozeman, 2000; Rainey, 2009).
Job choice motivation research has primarily focused on the constructs, determinants,
and outcomes of employee motivation in the public or private sector (Baldwin 1984,
1987; Crewson, 1997; Emmert and Taher, 1992; Houston, 2006; Park and Rainey, 2008;
Posner and Schmidt, 1982; Rainey, 1979, 1983; Wright, 2008). This research project
extends the existing research to incorporate nonprofit managers. The current study
employs data collected as part of the National Administrative Studies Project (NASP III)
in order to identify the nature and the antecedents of job choice motivation in the
nonprofit sector and the resulting social outcomes for communities. First, we present a
theoretical model that guides our inquiry into what motivates individuals to choose a job
in the nonprofit sector. We examine the concept of nonprofit job choice motivation by
introducing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in the nonprofit sector with three
exploratory research questions. Second, drawing upon previous research on career
motivation and volunteering, we develop and test several hypotheses based on 1) the role
of individual factors, managerial attributes, and organizational influences in shaping the
job choice motivation of nonprofit managers; and 2) the consequences of job choice
motivation in terms of social and professional activities pursued by nonprofit managers
outside of work. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for both nonprofit
theory and practice.
Human Resource Management in the Nonprofit Sector
In the popular media, nonprofit employees are generally portrayed as either heroic,
underpaid, and overworked saints trying to save the world, or villainously overpaid
CEOs at prominent nonprofit organizations taking advantage of charitable causes for
personal benefit. Indeed, these two extremes of hero and villain leave much to be
examined concerning the nature of nonprofit employees and their choice of career path.
While the academic literature is rich with examinations of employment in the other
sectors, research centered on nonprofit human resources (HR) has mainly focused on
issues related to incentives and compensation and volunteer management practices (Ben-
Ner, Ren and Paulson, 2011; Ruhm and Boroski, 2003; Leete, 2006; Steinberg, 2006;
Brudney, 1999; Young, 1984).
The tendency for nonprofit management research to focus on issues other than human
resource management (HRM) is not surprising given the small size and relative
informality of many nonprofits. Most nonprofit organizations are very small and lack
formal HR departments or functions (Ban, Drahnak-Faller, and Towers, 2003). It is
possible this lack of formality has been somewhat responsible for the shortage of
December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 171

research concerning the unique aspects and issues surrounding nonprofit HR
management and the motivation of nonprofit employees.
A deeper examination of employee motivations in nonprofits will provide a clearer
understanding of the professional and organizational changes that have impacted
nonprofit organizations. One of the major issues influencing the development of the
nonprofit sector is the increased professionalization of the workforce (Leete, 2006), and
the emergence of distinct educational and training programs for individuals seeking a job
in a nonprofit organization (Mirabella and Wish, 2000; Dimaggio and Anheier, 1990).
The nonprofit sector of today is more professionalized and formal than the nonprofit
sector of the past (Salamon, 1987). Sixty-nine percent of all nonprofit employees have
some education at the college level or greater, compared to 45.6 percent of for-profit
employees (Leete, 2006). As the nonprofit sector has become more professionalized and
specialized in terms of training, development, and identity, the need to understand HR
issues and employee motivation has become vital to improve both employee
management and organizational strategies.
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector
When choosing a career, individuals are driven and motivated by different factors, for
example, financial success, prestige, individual recognition, or the desire to positively
affect communities. Individuals, when given options, make career choices that align with
their own needs, values, and motivations. Prior research concerning the motivation of
public sector employees has found that job choices are often driven by the desire to serve
the community, as well as other more tangible benefits (Rainey and Steinbauer, 1999;
Crewson, 1997; Park and Rainey, 2007; Boyne, 2002; Wright, 2001). In the public
sector, many organizational researchers and practitioners have pointed out the importance
of employees’ job choice motivation in the linear processes of recruitment, attraction,
selection, and retention. These experts emphasize a need to understand what types of
individuals seek out particular jobs and why those jobs are attractive, in order to better
manage these processes, which is vital for the success of an organization as well as an
important function of HRM (Leisink and Steijin, 2008; Lewis and Frank, 2002).
In general, while work motivation refers to a person’s desire to work hard and work
well, and to the arousal, direction, and persistence of effort in the work setting, job choice
motivation refers to the motives, forces, or pre-conditions that initiate and affect job
choice (Ritz and Waldner, 2011). Job choice motivation is generally formalized prior to
actually being employed in an organization. For this reason, job choice motivation
should be conceptually and empirically differentiated from work motivation.1
Prospective employees are expected to consider and choose jobs on the basis of various
factors, including personal preferences, perceptions, organizational-social values,
demographic background, previous work experience, and expectations concerning
172 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

intrinsic or extrinsic rewards.
Matching organizational and employee characteristics is crucial for the success of
organizations. The Person-Environment (P-E) fit model has been presented and used as a
basic theoretical framework to explicate the link between employee values and job
choice (Cable and Judge, 1996; Chatman, 1991). The P-E fit model is defined as “the
compatibility between an individual and work environment that occurs when their
characteristics are well matched” (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005: 281). From a
supplementary or complementary point of view, the model, being composed of four
conceptual domains—person-job, person-organization, person-group, and person-
supervisor—implies that a fit between person and organization could be achieved either
by attracting applicants with appropriate characteristics or by affecting the applicants
once they are employed (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005: 315–16). Specifically, person-job fit
is defined as value congruence at the individual level, and person-organization fit is
defined as mission/strategy congruence at the organizational level. Conceptually, these
definitions have a close relationship with job choice motivation as important job-entry
antecedents (Leisink and Steijin, 2008). For example, research has found that individuals
whose primary value orientations are consistent with public service (e.g., self-sacrifice,
social equity, public interest, and civic responsibility) are more likely to accept jobs in
organizations that emphasize prosocial and altruistic values, and to actively serve the
goals and missions of such organizations (Judge and Bretz, 1992; Wright and Pandey,
2008).
While a number of influential extrinsic motivators that might induce job applicants to
want to work in the public sector (such as opportunities for training and development,
traditional job security, pension systems, and work-life balance policies) have been
defined as public sector motivation, public service motivation (PSM) can be described as
“individuals’ pro-social (or intrinsic) motivation to do good for others and society
through the delivery of public services” (Perry and Hondeghem, 2008: 3), “the
motivational force that induces individuals to perform meaningful … public, community,
and social service” (Brewer and Selden, 1998: 417) and “the beliefs, values and attitudes
that go beyond self-interest and organizational interest, that concern the interest of a
larger political entity and that motivate individuals to act accordingly whenever
appropriate” (Vandenabeele, 2007: 547). The literature concerning PSM is generally
supportive of the P-E fit model, assuming that “the greater an individual’s PSM, the more
likely the individual will be to seek membership in a public organization” (Perry and
Wise, 1990: 370). Recent work (Coursey et al., 2011; Word and Park, 2009), has
suggested that PSM is not restricted to organizations that are legally identified as public
but is also relevant to organizations that have a public service mission. Potential
employees are attracted to work or mission that values public service and personally
motivates their work. Such a proposition could be similarly applied in the nonprofit
sector, where the personal values of employees influence their job choice motivation and
December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 173

job decisions. An employee’s job choice reflects his or her beliefs, attitudes, behaviors,
and social activities (Park and Word, 2012).
Research Question 1: Is job choice motivation in the nonprofit sector composed of
sub-dimensional motivation constructs and concepts, i.e., different types of
prosocial motivation, intrinsic, or extrinsic motivation? Are these latent constructs
of motives conceptually and empirically distinct?
Research Question 2: What is the impact of demographic, managerial, and
organizational factors on nonprofit job choice motivation?
Research Question 3: What is the impact of job choice motivation on community-
level outcomes, e.g., social and professional activities?
Intrinsic Job Choice Motivation
Intrinsic motivation is often associated with the concepts of altruism, spiritual
recognition, social and job responsibility, prosocial behavior, and public service
motivation. Previous research and theories concerning the origins of the nonprofit sector
suggest nonprofit employees and managers are motivated by intrinsic rewards to serve
their communities (Leete, 2001; Mann, 2006; Santora and Sarros, 2001; Weisbrod,
1988). Philanthropy and volunteerism are cited as unique aspects of nonprofit
organizations in the face of increasingly blurred sectoral boundaries. Nonprofit
organizations with a social mission or which rely on volunteers for service delivery have
a “long history, deep traditions, and cultures, steeped in voluntaristic values” (Ott, 2001:
289). These values shape the culture and experiences of individuals working in the sector
in both paid and unpaid positions.
A recent study examining the choice of sector by MPA and MBA graduates
demonstrated the importance of values to the nonprofit sector. Tschirhart et al. (2008)
found the nonprofit sector attracted graduates who were least interested in a high salary
when compared to public and for-profit workers. Individuals choosing a nonprofit career
placed the most importance on helping others. These findings demonstrate the
importance of intrinsic motivation to nonprofit employees.
Extrinsic Job Choice Motivation
Many models of employee motivation assume market-based incentives are among the
most important incentives to induce employee achievement. Market-based incentive
174 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

structures rely mainly on extrinsic or tangible benefits. Extrinsic motivation refers to a
desire to work for benefits such as pay, rewards, and recognition. Research suggests
extrinsic rewards can crowd out, or undermine, intrinsic motivation (Deci et al, 2001).
However, a recent examination of motivation among human service workers suggests
that the relationship between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic reward may be more
complex than commonly understood. Travis (2007) suggests extrinsic rewards are
important for human service workers because extrinsic rewards are seen as tangible
indications of the value of their work.
Work-Life Balance (WLB) Motivation
Work-life balance (WLB) is a key human capital strategy in organizations (Ezra and
Deckman, 1996). Many organizations seek to assist employees in balancing the demands
of work and family. A study of federal employees suggests that some employees are
more concerned with WLB, including issues of conflict between the two, than other
HRM values and systems (Park & Joaquin, 2012).2Compressed work weeks or flexible
work hours can lead to a domino effect of positive outcomes in the areas of employee
attendance, absenteeism and turnover, job satisfaction, worker savings, environmental
changes, and more.3While scholars have examined the use of “flex time” in government,
very few have examined these issues in the nonprofit sector. An examination of
differences in HR practices between public and nonprofit drug treatment centers in the
United Kingdom found nonprofit organizations are more likely to offer flexibility as a
benefit to workers (Parry, Kelliher, Mills and Tyson, 2005). Similarly, in the United
States, surveys of executives in the nonprofit sector revealed nonprofit employees place a
higher premium on non-monetary aspects of their job, including fringe benefits (Leete
2001; Ban, Drahnak-Faller and Towers, 2003). The importance of WLB rewards may
reflect the importance of policies and practices intended to aid workers in coping with
family and personal needs outside work.
Job Security Motivation
Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory of work motivation suggests that work
motivation contains two separate and independent components, which can be called
hygiene factors (dissatisfiers) and intrinsic factors (motivators). Hygiene factors include
job security, working conditions, salary, and interpersonal relations. According to the
theory, these factors usually do not lead to higher levels of motivation, though the
absence of adequate levels of pay or job security can lead to dissatisfaction. For this
reason, we are examining the role that job security plays in job choice motivation.
December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 175

Advancement Motivation
In contrast, the motivating factors of Herzberg’s two-factor theory do have the
potential to increase worker satisfaction and motivation. Motivators are mainly related to
the nature of the work itself, such as performing interesting and important work, having
meaningful job responsibilities, and opportunities for advancement. Many of the
satisfiers, or motivating factors, are associated with advancement or recognition from an
individual’s employer or peers.
While “advancement” or “promotion” in organizations is generally regarded as an
extrinsic reward or recognition, Herzberg’s theory categorizes achievement and
advancement/growth or career development as higher-level motivators, which, by
definition, involve what employees actually do on the job.4A study of nonprofits by
Devaro and Brookshire (2007) suggests that advancement in a nonprofit organization is a
mode of better matching individuals with different skills and abilities to jobs for which
they are best suited. The study also finds that advancement opportunities are less
common for nonprofit workers because of the relatively small size of the organizations.
Hypothesis 1: Job choice motivation in the nonprofit sector is composed of sub-
dimensional motivation constructs, i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic job
choice motivation.
Antecedents of Job Choice Motivation
The attraction-selection-attrition model (Schneider, 1987) suggests that individuals
choosing a job are very likely to search for an organizational environment that matches
their personal characteristics or experience, with a view to maximizing the fit between
individual and environment (Ritz, 2011). For example, at the attraction-selection stage,
individuals’ previous work and sector experience and sector/organizational preference
would be critical predictors of job choice.
Previous Sector Job Experience
Individuals now hold many jobs over the span of a career. It is likely an individual’s
previous work and sector experience influence their socialization, as well as the
importance they place on salary and other benefits as motivational factors. Research
conducted by Tschirhart et al. (2008) found graduates of MBA and MPA programs favor
a particular sector and tend to remain within that sector over their career. This suggests
that previous job or sector experience shapes the attitude of employees toward work and
the community.
Boardman, Bozeman, and Ponomariov (2010) also found previous work experience
176 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

has an impact on job satisfaction and job involvement for individuals who switched from
the private to the public sector. They found that individuals who had previously worked
in the private sector were more involved in their jobs than those who had no private
sector experience. Similarly, Word and Park (2009) found that nonprofit sector
employees demonstrate a higher level of job involvement than their public sector
counterparts. Job involvement has been found to be related to intrinsic motivation (Cook
et al., 1981). The higher level of job involvement characterizing those who have
switched sectors suggests that individuals who leave for-profit and public organizations
to join the nonprofit workforce are more intrinsically motivated than those who have
only worked in the nonprofit sector.
Hypothesis 2a: Intrinsic job choice motivation will be significantly and positively
associated with previous private and public sector job experience of
nonprofit managers.
Hypothesis 2b: Extrinsic job choice motivation will be significantly and negatively
associated with previous private and public sector job experience of
nonprofit managers.
Types of Nonprofit Organizations
Hansmann (1987) suggests that different types of nonprofit organization arise to meet
different needs of the market. The typology of nonprofit organizations can be determined
by examining their sources of income and the ways in which they are controlled. The
typology separates donative nonprofits (nonprofits that receive a substantial portion of
their income from donations) from commercial nonprofits (nonprofits deriving their
income primarily from sales of goods or services). This model also distinguishes
nonprofits by their mode of control. Nonprofits that elect a board of directors are
classified as mutual nonprofits. Nonprofits in which the board is self-perpetuating are
classified as entrepreneurial nonprofits. Hansmann’s model delineates four types of
nonprofit: 1) donative-mutual, 2) donative-entrepreneurial, 3) commercial-mutual, and 4)
commercial-entrepreneurial.
We expect that individuals working for donative nonprofits will have a stronger
service orientation. Individuals working for organizations that provide selective or
mutual benefits or that are in direct competition with commercial businesses will be less
likely to have a strong orientation toward nonprofit service motivation.
Hypothesis 2c: Intrinsic job choice motivation will be more positively associated
with nonprofit organizations that are donative-entrepreneurial (public
charities) than will extrinsic job choice motivation.
December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 177

Hypothesis 2d: Intrinsic job choice motivation will be less positively associated with
nonprofit organizations that provide more selective benefits
(commercial-entrepreneurial and donative-mutual) than will extrinsic
job choice motivation.
Social and Community Outcomes of Job Choice Motivation
Previous research found that public workers with higher levels of PSM were more
likely to participate in activities which promote community and enhance civic
engagement, including volunteering and voting (Houston, 2006). We hypothesize that
these behaviors are primarily related to the intrinsic motivations of public sector workers,
rather than extrinsic or market-oriented motivations. Individuals who seek a career
serving the community have been found to be more involved in activities such as voting,
donating, and volunteering for charities. We anticipate the relationship between intrinsic
motivation and civic and volunteer activities will be similar to the relationship reported
for public sector employees, if not stronger, for nonprofit employees.
Especially from a socialization process perspective, we posit that social and
community activities could be valid and reliable indicators showing how nonprofit
organizations “transmit a public institutional logic and seeding PSM in the individual”
and how the agencies “implement an individual’s sense of public service and inculcate
public service–related virtues and norms” (Brewer, 2008: 149). The relationship between
motivation and the outcome of job choice motivation may be stronger partially because
many nonprofit employees work on a daily basis with volunteers, and they see the
importance of this type of activity directly. Research concerning volunteer retention finds
that individuals are more likely to continue actively volunteering for an organization if
they believe the work they are doing is challenging and provides opportunities for growth
(Jamison, 2003). These findings suggest that individuals who work in the nonprofit
sector might be more strongly motivated to volunteer than others because of their unique
understanding of the importance of volunteering.
Different types of nonprofit organization serve different purposes (Hansmann, 1987).
Donative-entrepreneurial nonprofit organizations largely exist to serve broadly defined
public interests, and primarily achieve those ends through donations or government
subsidies. Donative-mutual nonprofit organizations mainly benefit dues-paying
members, but can also benefit more broadly defined public and societal interests. In
contrast, commercial-entrepreneurial and commercial-mutual nonprofits tend to provide
goods and services on a fee-for-service basis, and the benefits are meant to accrue only
for those paying for the services, similar to the way in which for-profit businesses deliver
goods and services to paying customers. The more narrow interests served by
commercial nonprofit organizations are similar to small businesses, and the organizations
have a more closed-linked market-based incentive structure than nonprofit organizations
178 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 179
Antecedents I:
Demographic Factors
Consequences: Civic
Activities
Social and Community
Activities
Professional Activities
Demographic Attributes:
Gender
Age
Ethnicity
Education
Antecedents II:
Managerial Attributes
Previous Job Characteristics
(Job History):
Organization Type
Main Job Responsibility
Job Replacement
Current Job Characteristics
Main Job Responsibility
Job Tenure
Managerial Power
Antecedents III:
Organizational Factors
Type of Nonprofit Agency
1) Title Holding Company
2) Public Charity
3) Civil League
4) Labor, AG
5) Business Leagues
6) Fraternal and Benevolent
Societies
Organizational –Level
Controls:
Organization Size
Organization Age
State Context
Job Choice Motivation in
the Nonprofit Service:
Intrinsic Motivation
Work-Life Balance
Motivation
Security Motivation
Advancement Motivation
Figure 1. Antecedents and Consequences of Job Choice Motivation
Note: Arrows denote the direct and controlling impacts on work motivation in the nonprofit sector and
civic activities.

that are entrepreneurial in nature. Therefore, we predict that individuals employed by
commercial and donative-mutual nonprofits will be more likely to engage in professional
activities based on individual goals and rewards, rather than service to the community
more broadly. In contrast, we predict that organizations serving less selective interests
will be associated with individuals engaging in social and community activities that
benefit a common good. Overall, we hypothesize that 1) intrinsic and extrinsic job choice
motivation and 2) different types of nonprofit agency have different relationships with
social and professional activities. Figure 1 summarizes the model probing the
antecedents and consequences of job choice motivation in nonprofit organizations.
Hypothesis 3a: Intrinsic job choice motivation will be more positively and
significantly associated with social and community activities than will
extrinsic job choice motivation.
Hypothesis 3b: Intrinsic job choice motivation will be more positively and
significantly associated with professional activities than will extrinsic
job choice motivation.
Hypothesis 3c: Nonprofit organizations that are donative-entrepreneurial (public
charities) will be positively and significantly associated with social
and community activities.
Hypothesis 3d: Nonprofit organizations that are more entrepreneurial in nature
(donative-mutual and commercial-entrepreneurial or -mutual) will be
positively and significantly associated with professional activities.
DATA AND METHODS
Data Sources and Sample
This study utilizes data from the NASP-III survey. The survey instrument measured
mid- and upper-level managers’ perceptions of various organizational issues, including
work motivation, mentoring and communication, career histories, hiring practices, and
organizational cultures and structures. The survey was distributed to managers (N = 430)
working in nonprofits in the states of Illinois and Georgia.5Each organization was
represented by a number of respondents, with no serious unevenness in responses from
different organizations (details about descriptive statistics [Table 1] are available from the
authors upon request).6The sample included 305 nonprofit organizations in two states,
with 107 (25%) of the respondents from Georgia and 323 (75%) from Illinois. However,
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Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

the organizations represented in the sample included more membership and professional
associations than does the overall nonprofit sector. This over-representation of these
types of organizations in part limits the generalizability of these findings, but it also
allows us to more thoroughly understand this unique subset of organizations that serve
the predominantly narrow interests of their members. The overall response rate was 33.0
percent. Regarding missing data adjustments, we employed the expectation-
maximization (EM) algorithm method to preserve the effective sample size. This method
can increase the statistical power of the regression model and reduce possible non-
response bias in parameter estimates (Roth, 1994).
Measures of Antecedent Variables
We included three different levels of antecedent variables relative to the outcome
variables—demographic factors, managerial factors, and organizational attributes. Four
variables were used to examine demographic attributes of nonprofit managers: gender,
age, ethnicity, and education. Gender (female = 0) and ethnicity (non-white = 1) were
coded as dummy variables. Age and education factors were recoded as ordinal-level
variables with four and three categories, respectively.
Previous and current job characteristics in nonprofit agencies were included as
managerial attributes. Previous job characteristics (based on the preceding jobs of
respondents) were 1) previous organization type, such as public (government), private
company, or nonprofit organization, 2) main job responsibility, including managerial,
professional, and technical positions, and 3) job replacement from promotion, lateral and
upward move, or first job.
Current job characteristics also included 1) current job responsibility, 2) job tenure,
and 3) managerial authority (total number of employees supervised).
As key organizational factors, first following Hansmann’s typology of nonprofit
firms, we included three types of nonprofit organization: 1) donative-mutual, 2)
donative-entrepreneurial, and 3) commercial-entrepreneurial. Public charity
organizations were coded as donative-entreprenuerial agencies, whereas organizations
such as civic leagues and fraternal and benevolent societies were coded as donative-
mutual agencies. Examples of organizations coded as commercial-entrepreneurial/mutual
included title holding companies and labor and business league organizations. Second,
organizational-level controls, such as organizational size and age, and state context
(Georgia = 1) were included. Organizational size and age variables were log-transformed
to correct for skewness in the distribution of these variables.
Measures of Nonprofit Job Choice Motivation
Nonprofit job choice motivation variables were measured on a 4-four-point Likert
December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 181

scale (1 = not important, 2 = somewhat unimportant, 3 = somewhat important, and 4 =
very important), with specific statements concerning job choice motives in nonprofit
agencies (see Appendix). In the NASP-III questionnaire, nonprofit managers were asked
to respond to 16 survey items, regarding the factors motivating them to accept their
current job. In order to obtain the underlying latent motivational dimensions from the
items, we performed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to operationalize variables and
to confirm latent constructs of nonprofit job choice motivation. Based on CFA, four
nonprofit job choice motivation scales were developed from relevant survey items: 1)
intrinsic motivation, 2) work-life balance (WLB) motivation, 3) security motivation, and
4) advancement motivation. The results of CFA indicated the factor loadings supported
the use of these items as indicators of the four underlying constructs.
Measures of Outcome Variables: Civic Activities
In this study, 1) social and community activities and 2) professional activities were
included as outcome variables. Social and community activities (nine items) were
measured by asking nonprofit managers to indicate whether they were currently a
member of certain organizations, such as religious organizations, political party, youth
support groups, or charity/community service groups. Professional activities (eight items)
were measured based on the number of memberships indicated for organizations such as
professional societies, labor unions, health-related organizations, or historical
associations. Using these survey responses, we developed two ordinal-level outcome
variables (an 8-point scale for social and community activities and a 9-point scale for
professional activities).
Statistical Analyses
A hierarchical regression model was employed to reduce effective multicollinearity
problems among multiplicative and interaction terms, which often occur in
organizational behavior and social science studies (Cohen and Cohen, 1983; Simons and
Peterson, 2000).7In this research, we employed three statistical analysis procedures.
First, we explored and estimated the latent constructs of different types of job choice
motivation in the nonprofit sector using CFA.8Second, based on a multivariate
hierarchical regression procedure, we tested the relationships between different types of
antecedent hypothesized to affect nonprofit job choice motivation. Third, based on three
hierarchical statistical steps, we analyzed the relationships among antecedents and social
outcomes.
182 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

FINDINGS AND RESULTS
The Effects of Organizational Antecedents on Job Choice Motivation
Table 2 provides the results of hierarchical multivariate regression analyses
examining the impacts of individual, managerial, and organizational factors on the job
choice motivations of nonprofit managers (intrinsic motivation): WLB motivation,
security motivation, and advancement motivation. The different equations (steps 1, 2,
and 3) were regressed on four motivation variables in order to examine changes in total
variance affected by each step of factors (R2and F-value changes). The empirical
findings of the antecedent model are summarized in Table 2.
In step 1, we probed the impact of demographic attributes on job choice motivation
(R2ranged from 0.012 to 0.102). First, we found that gender is significantly and
negatively associated with all types of motivation. The findings indicate that female
nonprofit managers are likely to possess a higher level of nonprofit job choice motivation
than male nonprofit managers, regardless of the type of motivation. For example,
regarding the impact on intrinsic motivation, male managers reported, on average, 0.321
less intrinsic motivation than female managers in the nonprofit sector. Second, the results
reveal that the age of nonprofit managers is negatively and significantly related to three
types of motivation, except for intrinsic motivation, which indicates that as nonprofit
managers get older, they are less concerned with security or advancement issues. Rather,
they are more intrinsically motivated to choose and to stay in their job.
In step 2, the results indicate nonprofit managers who moved from the public to the
nonprofit sector are more intrinsically motivated (b = 0.374, p< 0.10), and less interested
in security (b = -0.392, p< 0.05) and advancement (b= -0.297, p< 0.10). This finding
suggests that nonprofit workers who previously worked in the public sector are more
intrinsically motivated than other nonprofit managers, which implies that the managers
who made a career transition within a particular NPO category would not perceive the
importance of intrinsic rewards, as they did not make a sector change and hence still
have similar value/mission/motivational constructs in the new working environment.
However, managers who transitioned from the public sector might more seriously
recognize the importance of intrinsic values, motives, and rewards, as they perceive that
there is a meaningful difference between intrinsic motives and values in the public sector
(i.e., PSM) and intrinsic motives and values in the nonprofit sector (i.e., NPSM). Hence,
the sector change from public agency to NGO might have a significant and positive
impact on intrinsic job choice motivation within NGOs, so-called NPSM. This finding
further suggests that a well-established and defined culture or structure of intrinsic
rewards matters in selecting, hiring, and retaining highly qualified managers in
nonprofits.9
Second, the results show that the managers whose previous job was obtained via
December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 183

promotion to a higher position from within the same organization are more likely to have
a high level of advancement motivation (b = 0.393, p< 0.05). In contrast, WLB
motivation is significantly high (b = 0.489, p< 0.05) if their previous job was a first job.
These findings suggest that previous job and work experience are critical factors
affecting current work motivation for nonprofit managers. Overall, the results of step 1
and step 2 partially support the hypothesis that nonprofit job choice motivation is
significantly associated with previous private and public sector job experience. [Partially
supports hypotheses 2a and 2b]
Finally, in step 3, we investigated the relationships between organizational and
agency attributes (e.g., type of nonprofit agency) and four types of job choice motivation
(R? ranged from 0.142 to 0.155). As expected, the results indicate that donative-
entrepreneurial nonprofits (public charities) are positively and significantly associated
with intrinsic motivation (b = 0.287, p< 0.05), while they are negatively and
significantly related to security motivation, one type of extrinsic motivation (b = -0.195,
p < 0.05). That is, nonprofit managers who are working in public charity agencies are
prone to intrinsic motivation and tend to be less extrinsically motivated, especially in the
area of job security.
Second, the results demonstrate that managers working for commercial-
entrepreneurial organizations are less intrinsically motivated (b = -0.143, p< 0.05), but
are more likely to perceive a high level of security motivation in their workplace (b =
0.095, p< 0.10). Overall, the findings from step 3 fully support the hypotheses
suggesting intrinsic motivation will be more positively associated with nonprofit
organizations that are donative-entrepreneurial (public charities), whereas intrinsic
motivation will be less positively associated with nonprofit organizations that are more
commercial. [Supports hypotheses 2c and 2d]
184 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector
Table 2. Results of Hierarchical Multivariate Regression Analysis: Antecedents of Nonprofit Job
Choice Motivation
Dependent Variables
Model 1: Short-Term Consequences
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector
Intrinsic WLB Security Advancement
Antecedent Variables Motivation Motivation Motivation Motivation
(N = 415) (N = 414) (N = 418 ) (N = 416)
Step 1: Individual-Level Controls
Coefficient (SE) Coefficient (SE) Coefficient (SE) Coefficient (SE)
Gender (female: 0) -.321*** (.119) -.225** (.116) -.236** (.116) -.236** (.118)
Age .003 (.006) -.018*** (.006) -.016*** (.006) -.018*** (.006)
Ethnicity (non-white: 1) -.044 (.264) .486* (.277) .466* (.261) .006 (.263)
Level of Education .004 (.089) -.237*** (.088) -.267*** (.088) -.122 (.088)

December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 185
Partial F Value 1.872 7.564*** 7.942*** 4,956***
R
2
.012 .099 .102 .066
Step 2: Managerial Attributes
(Previous Sector Job Experience)
1. Organizational Type (Previous)
Public Agencies to NPO .374* (.207) .094 (.206) -.392** (.206) -.297* (.174)
Private Companies to NPO .029 (.144) .030 (.143) -.062 (.144) -.333** (.142)
Nonprofit Organizations to NPO .042 (.119) .088 (.118) .109 (.118) -.097 (.118)
2. Main Responsibility (Previous)
Job Responsibility: Manager -.288 (.201) .296 (.199) .147 (.196) .021 (.194)
Job Responsibility: Professional -.550** (.226) .288 (.225) -.036 (.223) -.169 (.220)
Job Responsibility: Technical -.659* (.337) .406 (.335) .141 (.335) .009 (.332)
3. Managerial-Level Controls: Job
Replacement (Previous)
Promotion .313 (.221) .005 (.219) .075 (.216) .393** (.203)
Lateral Move .201 (.221) .089 (.219) .110 (.217) .052 (.214)
Upward Move .144 (.206) .231 (.204) .171 (.200) .084 (.199)
First Job .162 (.414) .489** (.197) .219 (.411) -.127 (.407)
Partial F Value 7.664*** 2.359*** 2.706*** 2.654***
R
2
.131 .126 .139 .137
ΔR
2
.119 .027 .037 .071
Step 3: Organizational Attributes
1. Type of Nonprofit Agency
Donative-Entrepreneurial Agencies:
Public Charity .287** (.120) -.074 (.119) -.195** (.101) -.038 (.117)
Donative-Mutual Agencies: Civil League;
Fraternal and Benevolent Societies -.047 (.498) -.201 (.493) -.157 (.494) -.977** (.489)
Commercial-Entrepreneurial/Mutual
Agencies: Title Holding Companies; - .143** (.059) .018 (.057) .095* (.574) 0.32 (.059)
Labor, AG; Business Leagues
2. Agency-Level Controls
Organization Size (natural log) .000 (.000) .000 (.000) .000 (.000) .000 (.000)
Organization Age (natural log) .001 (.002) .001 (.002) -.003* (.002) .000 (.002)
State Context (Georgia: 1) .300** (.146) .406** (.146) -.278** (.144) .164 (.144)
Partial F Value 7.311*** 2.475*** 2.771*** 2.290***
R
2
.153 .154 .155 .142
ΔR
2
.034 .028 .016 .005
***p < 0.01: significant at the 0.01 level
**p < 0.05: significant at the 0.05 level
*p < 0.10: significant at the 0.10 level
Critical values (two-tailed test) are 1.96 for p < 0.05 and 1.65 for p < 0.10 (t-statistics are in parentheses).

The Effects of Job Choice Motivation on Social and Community Outcomes
Table 3 presents the results of the analysis of the effects of job choice motivation on
social outcomes, including 1) social and community activities and 2) professional
activities. Gender effects at step 1 show that male managers are more likely to contribute
to social and community activities (b = 0.516, p< 0.01) than female managers. However,
there is no relationship between gender and professional activities, which implies that the
higher contributions of male managers to social and community activities is a function of
there being more opportunities and preference for male managers to be involved with
political, religious, and community issues than for female managers. At the managerial
level in step 2 (R2= 0.094 for social and community activities; R2= 0.044 for
professional activities), intrinsic motivation in nonprofit agencies, which is one of the
key variables in this study, is positively and significantly associated with both outcome
variables (b = 0.232, p< 0.05; b = 0.043, p< 0.10, respectively). The significant
relationship between the outcome variables suggests that intrinsically motivated
managers are more involved with social and professional activities than managers who
are motivated by extrinsic or other hygiene factors, such as security or advancement
motivation. In addition, we found security motivation to be negatively related to social
and community activities. In other words, the more managers are concerned with their
job security, the less likely they are to spend time on social activities. One explanation for
this relationship is that managers might work extra hours and might have substantial
additional job obligations to ensure job security and advancement at the expense of
having time for social activities.
In analysis at the organizational level (step 3), we examined the relationships among
type of nonprofit agency and social and professional activities (R2= 0.135 for social and
community activities; R2= 0.079 for professional activities). These results indicate that
nonprofit managers from commercial-mutual agencies are significantly involved with
social and community activities (b = 0.117, p< 0.05). The findings also show that
commercial-entrepreneurial nonprofit managers are more likely to contribute to
professional activities (b = 0.139, p< 0.05), but nonprofit managers at donative-
entrepreneurial (public charity) agencies are less concerned with professional activities (b
= -0.097, p< 0.05). The overall findings from the model partially support our initial
hypotheses predicting that intrinsic motivation will be more positively and significantly
associated than extrinsic motivation with social, community, and professional activities,
and that nonprofit managers working at different types of nonprofit agencies will have
different preferences for social and professional activities. [Partially supports hypotheses
3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d]
186 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 187
Table 3. Results of Hierarchical Multivariate Regression Analysis: Consequences of Nonprofit Job
Choice Motivation
Dependent Variables
Model 2: Long-Term Consequences
Personal Civic Activities
Antecedent Variables Social and Community Professional
Activities Activities
Step 1: Individual-Level Controls Coefficient (SE) Coefficient (SE)
Gender (female: 0) .516*** (.170) -.034 (.041)
Age .009 (.009) .002 (.002)
Ethnicity (non-white: 1) .026 (.401) -.009 (.096)
Level of Education .025 (.190) .032 (.031)
Partial F Value 3.283** .640
R2.05 .010
Step 2: Managerial Attributes (Current Job
Characteristics)
1. Managerial-Level Controls: Main Responsibility (Current)
Job Responsibility: Manager -.632 (.483) .131 (.116)
Job Responsibility: Professional -.628 (.536) .090 (.129)
Job Responsibility: Technical -1.736* (1.051) .100 (.253)
Job Tenure .003 (.014) .001 (.003)
Managerial Authority (Supervisory Status) .000 (.001) .000 (.000)
2. Managerial-Level Controls: Job Replacement (Current)
Promotion .056 (.233) .041 (.056)
Lateral Move -.020 (.509) .149 (.122)
Upward Move .155 (.226) .086* (.044)
First Job -.141 (1.337) .048 (.322)
3. Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector
Intrinsic Motivation .232*** (.096) .043* (.024)
WLB Motivation -.015 (.096) .013 (.023)
Security Motivation -.169* (.093) -.029 (.022)
Advancement Motivation -.063 (.099) .002 (.024)
Partial F Value 2.431* .637
R2.094 .044
ΔR2.044 .034

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
Light (2002) suggests that one of the most important qualities of the nonprofit sector
is the ability to motivate and attract a workforce through the appeal of serving one’s
community. In this regard, HR management is one of the most pressing management
concerns for professional organizations in all sectors. Essentially, we anticipated that the
core HR management functions such as planning, classification, recruitment, selection,
compensation, benefits, performance evaluation and assessment, training, development,
discipline, termination, and EEO would play crucial roles in enhancing NGO managers’
job choice motivation per se. For example, objective and sustainable employee appraisal
systems, effectively adopted employee-friendly policies/diversity management policies,
or well-designed and implemented human resource development policies would
eventually contribute to boosting the job choice motivation of nonprofit managers in a
meaningful way. The findings of this research support the idea that intrinsic motivation is
an important aspect of job choice motivation for individuals in the nonprofit workforce.
In addition, this research found that other characteristics, including policies that enhance
WLB, advancement, and job security, are important to understand the motivations of the
nonprofit workforce and their choice to work in the sector. This research also found that
these different motivational aspects have consequences for communities, and that not all
188 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector
Step 3: Organizational Attributes
1. Type of Nonprofit Agency
Donative-Entrepreneurial Agencies: Public Charity .066 (.178) -.097** (.043)
Donative-Mutual Agencies: Civil League; Fraternal .117** (.062) -.116 (.165)
and Benevolent Societies .
Commercial-Entrepreneurial/Mutual Agencies:
Title Holding Companies; Labor, AG; Business Leagues -.082 (.062) .139** (.064)
2. Agency-Level Controls
Organization Size (natural log) .000 (.000) .000 (.000)
Organization Age (natural log) -.003 (.003) .000 (.001)
State Context (Georgia: 1) .433** (.220) .032 (.053)
Partial F Value 2.498** .783
R2.135 .079
ΔR2.041 .035
***p < 0.01: significant at the 0.01-level
**p < 0.05: significant at the 0.05-level
*p < 0.10: significant at the 0.10-level
Critical values (two-tailed test) are 1.96 for p < 0.05 and 1.65 for p < 0.10 (t-statistics are in
parentheses).

types of nonprofit agencyies attract similarly motivated individuals, or lead to equivalent
community outcomes.
As the nonprofit sector has developed, researchers and scholars have tended to focus
on public charities, since they make up the largest portion of the sector. However, many
different types of organization populate the nonprofit sector, and our research reveals the
differences that exist between the type of nonprofit organization and the factors that
motivate individuals to choose nonprofit jobs across the sector. Our study used
Hansmann’s typology to examine the differences in employee motivation between more
charitable organizations and organizations that tend to serve more narrow or market-
based interests.
First, employees working for donative-entrepreneurial nonprofit organizations tended
to be more intrinsically motivated and less concerned about job security. This finding
suggests that employees in this part of the sector are especially drawn to intrinsic values
commonly associated with service and volunteerism. In contrast, employees working for
commercial-entrepreneurial nonprofits are less intrinsically motivated and more
motivated by issues related to job security. This suggests organizations that tend to
compete more directly with businesses, or serve more narrowly defined interests, have
employees who are differently motivated than their public charity counterparts.
Additionally, our findings suggest that different types of nonprofit organization have
different impacts on the communities they serve. Mutual nonprofits, such as civic
leagues and fraternal orders, have a strong positive relationship with involvement in
social and community activities. This is not surprising, since community involvement is
exactly the type of activity that many of these organizations have been created to
promote. Additionally, commercial-entrepreneurial agencies tend to increase
participation in professional activities, and decrease participation in social and
community activities. Again, the strong relationship between professional activity and
commercial-entrepreneurial agencies is tied to the core mission of many of these
organizations, which were created to serve the promotion of a particular business or
profession. However, the negative relationship between employment in these agencies
and social and community activities suggests that one type of activity may crowd out the
other. Finally, employment in donative-entrepreneurial nonprofits tends to decrease
participation in professional activities. This might be due to the lack of a strong
professional identity for individuals in the nonprofit sector, which includes individuals
from many different professions.
One of the more surprising findings of our research is the significant impact that
gender has on motivation and its consequences. Being male has a strong negative effect
on all four motivational constructs: intrinsic, work-life balance, security, and
advancement. The negative relationship between being male and expressing a strong
commitment to work-life balance policies is likely due to the role that women play in
society outside of the office. Although gender roles have changed, significant evidence
December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 189

suggests that women still perform more unpaid domestic labor (Kroska, 2004; Lee and
Waite, 2005) and place a stronger emphasis on family (Mennino, Rubin and Brayfield,
2005).
The findings regarding advancement, security, and intrinsic motivation are more
surprising. Bright’s (2005) examination of public service motivation does find that
women, in general, are more likely to value public service. In light of our findings about
intrinsic motivation, the tendency of women to value public service more than men
seems to hold true for the nonprofit sector. The tendency for men in the nonprofit sector
to value advancement less than women may say more about the characteristics of women
in the nonprofit sector than it does about men. Women may see the sector, which tends to
be heavily female, as supportive of their desire to advance, whereas in other sectors, the
expression of the desire to advance might be muted due to social pressures for women
not to compete.
One of the more interesting findings is related to employees who had previously
worked in the public sector. These employees demonstrated higher levels of intrinsic
motivation and were less interested in security and advancement. This suggests that
moving to the nonprofit sector is a choice based on the desire of these individuals to
serve others. Similarly, those moving from the for-profit to the nonprofit sector placed a
lower emphasis on advancement. This finding supports the assertion that workers in the
nonprofit sector are unique in their valuation of service to others (Light, 2002; Benz,
2005; Rose-Ackerman, 1996). Another interesting difference in terms of intrinsic
motivation is the negative relationship between professional and technical job
responsibilities. This finding suggests that individuals in professional or technical
positions in nonprofit organizations may have different motivations, which are more
closely related to their profession than to values of public or community service.
The positive relationship between intrinsic motivation and all aspects of civic
engagement suggests that intrinsic motivation has a positive influence not only on
individuals, but also on the communities they serve. This finding supports the notion that
nonprofit organizations embody and encourage community building and civic activities
(LeRoux, 2007; Berry and Arons, 2003). The link between nonprofit employment and
community outcomes also suggests that nonprofits not only support and encourage
engagement in those they serve, but also in their own employees. In this regard, nonprofit
agencies should consider innovative managerial strategies for effectively developing key
nonprofit HR functions to attract and retain the right employees (e.g., the functions of
selecting and hiring, and training and development). Additionally, strategies aimed at
maintaining optimal levels of employee morale and engagement could ultimately
contribute to the enhancement of the intrinsic motivation of employees, as well as to
increasing their involvement in social and professional activities to benefit their
community.
The important contributions of this study should be acknowledged in light of certain
190 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

limitations. This study relied on a cross-sectional design. Thus, conclusions regarding
causal connections between individual-level and organization-level factors and
community-level outcomes (e.g., social and professional activities) of NGO managers
should be made with great caution. First, the cross-sectional design does not offer a clear
cause-and-effect relationship between the variables examined in the present study. We
need more qualitative studies to shed light on what happens in the nonprofit sector.
Though we can make a number of observations here based on quantitative data, it would
be greatly useful to take a closer look at the causal mechanism to know more about the
roles of crucial variables such as job choice motivation, job characteristics, and various
types of civic activity. Second, the individual-level analysis of self-reported data cannot
avoid common method bias. Based on Harman’s single-factor test, we found that
common method variance is not a huge concern in this study, but future researchers
should collect panel data from multiple sources, at multiple locations to reduce the
potential bias. Future research is needed to investigate more fully the motivations of
nonprofit employees. Future research may include the application of a similar scale to
public service motivation, or the creation of a new model entirely. Further development
and testing of motivational models for the nonprofit sector will enhance the ability of
nonprofit managers to understand how to better manage and motivate their workforce,
and ultimately, to more effectively carry out their mission. Additionally, improvements in
our understanding of motivation in the nonprofit sector will enhance our understanding
of what makes the sector unique and what types of management strategy (e.g., either
from a supplementary or complementary perspective) are appropriate to achieve a best fit
between person and organization in the nonprofit sector.
NOTES
1. Upon a reviewer’s request, we highlighted the different constructs between job choice
motivation and work motivation based upon the measurement scales that are popularly used
in the field of HRM.
1) Job Motivation Scale (Patchen, Pelz, and Allen, 1965)
This questionnaire, one of the few direct measures of job motivation, poses the
following questions:
On most days on your job, how often does time seem to drag for you?
Some people are completely involved in their job—they are absorbed in it night and day.
For other people, their job is simply one of several interests. How involved do you feel in
your job?
How often do you do some extra work for your job that isn’t really required of you?
Would you say that you work harder, less hard, or about the same as other people doing
December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 191

your type of work at [name of organization]?
2) Work Motivation Scale (Wright, 2004)
I put forth my best effort to get the job done regardless of the difficulties.
I am willing to start work early or stay late to finish a job.
It has been hard for me to get very involved in my current job. (Reversed)
I do extra work for my job that isn’t really expected of me.
Time seems to drag while I am on the job. (Reversed)
2. Regarding the WFP issues, Hoyman & Duer (2004) discuss the shift from traditional family-
friendly policies (FFP) to the worker-friendly policies that are currently preferred. They
present a fourfold typology of systematic criteria to measure the effectiveness of the different
worker-friendly policies. The four worker-friendly policies consist of the following: 1) old
family/personal type of policies, 2) removing impediments to work, 3) training and education,
and 4) non-traditional incentives.
3. Compressed workweeks (CW) or flexible work hours are non-traditional, flexible work
schedules that can be used to supplement, complement, transform, or replace the traditional
40-hour work week. In CW, the worker attends a shorter number of days within the
workweek, but works a longer workday, e.g., a 4-day-week, 10-hour-day schedule.
4. Career development (CD) can be defined as an ongoing process by which individuals
progress through a series of stages, each characterized by a relatively unique set of issues,
themes and tasks. CD is usually divided into two steps: 1) Career Planning, which assesses
individuals’ skills and abilities in order to establish a realistic career plan, and 2) Career
Management, which focuses on taking necessary steps to achieve that established plan.
5. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) explicitly explains the nested nature of data, and
simultaneously estimates the impact of factors at different levels on individual-level
outcomes while maintaining appropriate levels of analysis for predictors (Raudenbush et al.,
2000). One of the rationales for using the HLM method is that ordinary least squares (OLS)
modeling does not take into account the interdependence of individual-level observations
(N=430) nested within higher-level (i.e., agency-level) nonprofit agencies (N=305). As a
hierarchical ordering structure is evident in nonprofit agencies, first, this study employed
ANCOVA and the intercepts- and slopes-as-outcomes models, which provide unique
intercept and slope estimates for each nonprofit agency. However, the results from their
hierarchical regression models are not significantly different to those from the ANCOVA and
the intercepts- and slopes-as-outcomes models of HLM. Some of the local nonprofit
organizations at level 2 (agency-level) included in the sample are:
Nonprofit organizations based in Georgia (Total N: 92 local NPOs)
Nonprofit organizations based in Illinois (Total N: 213 local NPOs)
Local Nonprofit Agency Name STATE
Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistants GA
AGC - Georgia Branch GA
192 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

Alston & Bird GA
American Academy of Pediatrics Georgia Chapter GA
American Academy of Religion GA
American Apparel Producers Network GA
American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Inc GA
American Association of Physician Specialists Inc GA
Association for Clinical Pastoral Education GA
Association of Black Cardiologists GA
Association of Energy Engineers GA
Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals GA
Association Services Group GA
Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau GA
Atlanta Enterprise Center GA
Bobby Dodd Institute GA
Council of Administrators of Special Education Inc. GA
Decision Sciences Institute GA
Delta Air Lines GA
Elberton Granite Association GA
Georgia Association of Educational Leaders GA
Georgia Association of Homes & Services for Children GA
Georgia Association of Realtors GA
Georgia Council on Substance Abuse GA
Georgia Society of Association Executives GA
Georgia Tech Alumni Association GA
Georgia Tennis Association GA
Georgia Trial Lawyers Association GA
Georgia Utility Contractors Association GA
Georgia Water & Pollution Control Association Inc GA
Georgia World Congress Center GA
Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association GA
Greater Columbus Home Builders Association GA
Hyatt Regency Atlanta GA
Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia Inc GA
Institute for Professionals in Taxation GA
Institute of Industrial Engineers GA
International Group of Accounting Firms - GA GA
Jekyll Island Club Hotel GA
Jones & Kolb Certified Public Accountants GA
Marriott Bay Point Resort Village GA
My Brothaz HOME GA
Professional Photographers of America Inc GA
Professional Pricing Society GA
Radisson Riverfront Hotel Augusta GA
December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 193

Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation GA
SACS GA
Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau GA
Savannah International Trade & Convention Center GA
South Eastern Fabricare Association GA
Southeastern Electric Exchange GA
Southern Cable Telecommunications Association GA
Southern Crop Production Association GA
State & Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association GA
State Bar of Georgia GA
Tech Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry GA
The One Joshua Group LLC GA
US Poultry & Egg Association GA
Utilities Protection Center Inc GA
Wood Component Manufacturers Association GA
Academy of General Dentistry National Office IL
Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care IL
Air Movement & Control Association International Inc IL
All AmericaSelections IL
Allerton Crowne Plaza Chicago IL
Ambassadors International Inc IL
AMC-Association Management Center IL
American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery IL
American Academy of Dermatology IL
American Dietetic Association IL
American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture IL
American Health Info Management Association IL
American Hospital Association IL
American Hospital Association Certification Center IL
American Institute of Architects - Illinois IL
American Institute of Architects Chicago Chapter IL
American Library Association IL
American Massage Therapy Association IL
American Medical Association IL
American Nuclear Society IL
American Oil Chemists Society IL
American Orthopedic Association IL
American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine IL
American Osteopathic Association IL
American Planning Association Chicago Office IL
American Rental Association IL
American Society for Clinical Pathology IL
American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy IL
194 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

American Society for Healthcare Central Service Professionals IL
American Society for Surgery of the Hand IL
American Society of Anesthesiologists IL
Casket & Funeral Supply Association of America IL
CCIM Institute IL
Champaign County Convention & Visitors Bureau IL
Chicago Bar Association IL
Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau IL
Chicago Dental Society IL
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce IL
Child Care Association of Illinois IL
Children Affected by Aids Foundation IL
College of American Pathologists IL
Conference Services Inc IL
Cook Witter Inc IL
Corcoran Expositions Inc IL
Council of Residential Specialists IL
Crowne Plaza Metro IL
Dairy Management Inc IL
Dental Assisting National Board IL
Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance IL
Desmond & Ahern, LTD IL
DuPage County Farm Bureau IL
HAB Assoc Inc IL
Healthcare Financial Management Association IL
Healthcare Financial Management Association IL
Healthcare Info & Management Systems Society IL
Home Sweet Home Ministries Inc IL
Illinois Agricultural Association Foundation IL
Illinois Agricultural Association Winnebago County IL
Illinois Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance IL
Illinois Association of Mutual Insurance Companies IL
Illinois Association of Park Districts IL
Illinois Association of Realtors IL
Illinois Association of School Administrators IL
Illinois Association of School Boards IL
Illinois Association of School Business Officials IL
Illinois Bankers Association IL
Illinois Certified Public Accountants Society IL
Illinois Funeral Directors Association IL
Illinois Health Care Association IL
Illinois Movers & Warehousemen’s Association IL
Illinois Municipal League IL
December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 195

Illinois Optometric Association IL
Library & Info Technology Association IL
Manufacturers Representatives Educational Research Foundation IL
Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association IL
McLean County Chamber of Commerce IL
Mechanical Contractors Association of Chicago IL
Metals Service Center Institute IL
Mid America International Agriculture Trade Council IL
Midwest Association of Golf Course Superintendents IL
National PTA IL
National Roofing Contractors Association IL
Radiological Society of North American Inc IL
Real Estate Buyers Agent Council IL
Refrigeration Service Engineers Society IL
Rotary International IL
RSM McGladrey Inc - Schaumburg IL
Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers IL
Society of Women Engineers IL
Springfield Illinois Convention & Visitors Bureau IL
The Center for Association Growth IL
The Council of State Governments IL
The Sanford Org Inc IL
The Sherwood Group Inc IL
The Stolberg Group IL
Training Systems Inc IL
Turnaround Management Association IL
Urban & Regional Info Systems Association IL
Urban Libraries Council IL
US Business & Industry Council IL
USA Council of Serra International IL
W T B Assoc Inc IL
West 40 Intermediate Service Center IL
Wheeling Prospect Heights Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry IL
Window & Door Manufacturers Association IL
6. Skewness indicates whether the item’s distribution deviates from the symmetry distribution.
Kurtosis measures the degree to which the area in a distribution is in the middle and the tails
of a distribution. As a rule of thumb, the range of ±2 is often considered a significant
departure from normality (Pedhazur, 1997). In this research, most items show a relatively
stable and similar amount of variance. In terms of individual normality, most items have a
high positive kurtosis value, which means that most respondents have selected the same
response option. Most variables of skewness or kurtosis are between –2 < s(k) <2, and we can
argue that these variables are approximately normally distributed.
196 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

7. At the initial stage, we employed both OLS regression and ordered logit regression
techniques, and found that most results show similarity. For example, in terms of the effects
of job choice motivation on social and community outcomes, ordered logit regression results
reveal that intrinsic motivation is also positively and significantly associated with both
outcome variables (b = 0.436, p< 0.05; b = 0.091, p< 0.10, respectively), whereas other
types of job choice motivation show relatively weak or negative relationships with the
variables. In this regard, for ease of interpretation, we focus on the OLS regression outputs in
the text.
8. In the CFA model, the maximum likelihood (ML) method was employed. Severe non-
normality patterns were not observed on multivariate normality tests, and therefore the ML
method in CFA was deemed more unbiased, consistent, and efficient for this analysis,
especially because the population distribution for the endogenous variables was multivariate
normal (Kline, 2005). Also, the covariance matrix was used as input to LISREL 8.72 in order
to examine the 4-factor measurement model of CFA. The CFA results reported are shown
below.
Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector (CFA Model)
December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 197

Overall Fit Indexes of the CFA Model
Model 1 df Chi- CFI NNFI NFI IFI RFI RMSEA SRMR
Square
Suggested Cut-off Values >.95 >.95 >.95 >.95 >.95 <.08 <.08
A Measurement Model 268 243.67 .96 .97 .99 .98 .96 .06 .067
ªBased on the WLS (ADF) method, all coefficients of the factor loadings (lambda-Ys and
gammas) in this CFA model are standardized (t-statistics are in parentheses).
9. One of the plausible explanations for “why previous sector job experience in a public agency
shows a positive impact on intrinsic job choice motivation, while previous sector job
experience in NPO is not likely to increase intrinsic job choice motivation” might come from
Deci and Ryan’s SDT, which provides a valuable comprehensive research framework to
explore the different types of job choice motivation in the nonprofit sector. That is, SDT
suggests that there is a higher level of extrinsic motivation called “identification and
integration,” and these types of extrinsic motivation are regarded as autonomous types of
motivation, whose characteristics are very similar to intrinsic motivation. Those
categorizations imply that PSM or public service–based job choice motivation might be
similar to autonomous types of motivation, whereas intrinsic (job choice) motivation itself
might share some similarities with nonprofit sector motivation (NPSM) or nonprofit sector
job choice motivation.
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Sung Min Park is an associate professor in the Department of Public Administration &
Graduate School of Governance at Sungkyunkwan University. His primary research
interests are public management, public human resources management and development,
organizational behavior, leadership and motivation, and quantitative research methods.
His work has appeared in American Review of Public Administration, Review of Public
202 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

Personnel Administration, International Public Management Journal, Public Personnel
Management, International Journal of Human Resource Management, International
Review of Administrative Sciences, Public Performance Management Review, and Public
Management Review. E-mail: sm28386@skku.edu
Jessica Word is an assistant professor in the School of Environmental and Public Affairs
at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her research interests focus on capacity and
management issues in the public and nonprofit sectors. Her work has appeared in Public
Administration Review, Review of Public Personnel Administration, and Public
Personnel Management. E-mail: jessica.word@unlv.edu
Recieved: October 12, 2012
Revised: December 2, 2012
Accepted: December 17, 2012
December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 203

Appendix:
Construction of Indicesª
Selected Representative Survey Items
Antecedent Variables:
Individual Attributes
• Gender (female: 0)
• Age
• Ethnicity (non-white: 1)
• Level of Education
Managerial Attributes
• Previous Job Characteristics
- Organizational Type: Private, Public, Nonprofit
- Main Responsibility: Manager, Professional, Technical
- Job Replacement: Promotion, Lateral and Upward Move, First Job
• Current Job Characteristics
- Main Responsibility: Manager, Professional, Technical
- Job Replacement: Promotion, Lateral and Upward Move, First Job
Organizational Factors
• Type of Nonprofit Agency
- Donative-Entrepreneurial Agencies: Public Charity
- Donative-Mutual: Civil League, Fraternal and Benevolent Societies
- Commercial-Entrepreneurial/Mutual Agencies: Title Holding Companies, Labor, AG, Business
Leagues
• Organization Size
• Organization Age
• State Context
204 Serving the Mission: Organizational Antecedents and Social Consequences of Vol. 17, No. 3
Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector

Motivation Variables:
Respondents were asked to respond to the following statements (1 = not important, 2 = somewhat
unimportant, 3 = somewhat important, 4 = very important): Please indicate the extent to which the
factors below were important in making your decision to take a job at your current organization.
• Opportunity for advancement within the organization’s hierarchy
• Opportunity for training and career development
• Job security
• Organization’s reputation for opportunities for women or minorities
• Overall quality and reputation of this organization
• The organization’s pension or retirement plan
• Desire for less bureaucratic red tape
• Desire for a low conflict work environment
• Desire for increased responsibility
• Benefits (medical, insurance)
• “Family friendly” policies (e.g., flexible work hours, parental leave)
• Salary
• Ability to serve the public and the public interest
• Few, if any, alternative job offers
• Relatively low cost of living in the region
• Employment opportunities for spouse or partner
Outcome Variables: Civic and Political Activities
Social (Political) and Community Activities (9 items)
1. Church, synagogue, mosque, or religious organizations
2. Political club or political party committees
3. Service organizations such as Rotary or Lions
4. Youth support groups
5. Neighborhood or homeowners associations
6. PTA, PTO, or school support groups
7. Group sports team or clubs
8. Charity/community service
9. Arts (music, museums, art, dance)
Professional Activities (8 items)
10. Professional societies, trade or business associations, or labor unions
11. History Associations
12. Animal related organizations
13. Health related organizations
14. Environmental organizations
December 2012 Sung Min Park & Jessica Word 205

15. Book clubs
16. Public Safety
17. Board member
ª A complete listing of items and variables used in this study is available from the authors. (Also,
details about descriptive statistics [Table 1] are available from the authors upon request.)
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Job Choice Motivation in the Nonprofit Sector