Does Citizen Feedback Influence Public Service Motivation? Evidence From a Survey Experiment in the Context of Urban Service Provisions

Abstract

Despite the growing interest of research on public service motivation (PSM), limited studies have considered the interaction between street-level bureaucrats and citizens. This study examined the impact of citizen feedback on PSM among street-level bureaucrats. Anchoring on the social exchange theory, this research posits that citizen feedback plays a pivotal role in influencing PSM. Using a vignette–survey experiment in the context of urban service provisions in Magelang city, Indonesia, this study empirically tested the causal relationship between citizen feedback and PSM. The finding reveals empirical evidence that positive citizen feedback enhances PSM, while, conversely, negative feedback diminishes PSM. These results underscore the importance of citizen feedback as an alternative managerial tool to motivate street-level bureaucrats who directly engage in service delivery. Public managers can also use these findings as a starting point to design a citizen feedback handling system in public service delivery.