The Curvilinear Effects of Leader Public Service Motivation on Person–Supervisor Fit and Subordinate Emotional Exhaustion: Evidence From Field and Experimental Studies

Abstract

Past research has shed important light on the dark side of individuals’ public service motivation (PSM) in relation to their own well-being. This study turns attention to the role of leader PSM and asks whether it could have a curvilinear relationship with subordinate emotional exhaustion. Drawing from the person–environment (P-E) fit perspective, this study proposes that this curvilinear relationship is mediated by perceptions of person–supervisor (PS) fit and moderated by subordinate PSM. The results from the field and two experimental vignette studies in Thailand provide support for the proposed hypotheses. In particular, higher levels of emotional exhaustion and lower levels of PS fit were observed at the low and high levels of leader PSM, whereas the moderate level of leader PSM was associated with lower emotional exhaustion and higher PS fit. The results from the experimental studies further indicate that individuals with high PSM, in comparison with those with low PSM, perceived higher PS fit with leaders who have moderate to high levels of PSM, in turn, experiencing less emotional exhaustion. These findings highlight the potential dark side of leader PSM, which lends further credence to the too-much-of-a-good-thing effect. Nevertheless, these effects also depend on employees’ PSM levels.