Bureaucratic Structures and Organizational Commitment of Senior Public Officials: Evidence from a Cross-National Study of 20 European Countries

Abstract

In recent years there has been growing scholarly interest in the effects of bureaucratic structures on corruption, socioeconomic development, government effectiveness, policy implementation, and support for democracy. However, very few attention has been paid to a link between bureaucratic structures and civil servants’ work morale, especially organizational commitment. Do public sector managers in closed civil service systems show more commitment to the organization than those in more open bureaucracies? We argue that senior public sector managers in closed bureaucratic structures show higher levels of organizational commitment than those in more open civil service systems. However, such higher commitment mainly comes from the economic costs of leaving organization, lack of outside alternative, and perceived obligation to remain in the organization, not from their engagement in their organizational goals and values. Using two unique large comparative data sets on public bureaucracies and public managers—the COCOPS Top Executive Survey (Hammerschmid 2015) and the QoG (Quality of Government) Expert Survey (Dahlström et al. 2015)—we find support for hypothesis.