Digitally supported relational public service (RPS) symbolizes a forward-looking effort to realize relational governance, yet its implementation faces two persistent challenges: the difficulty of measuring relationality and structural resistance. This study provides a Chinese pathway to address these challenges by examining how social media use can enhance public service motivation (PSM). We develop and empirically test a multi-level relational origin model of PSM. Findings show that social media use significantly strengthens PSM by satisfying three key antecedents: structurally, China’s social media control policy institutionalizes PSM as a normative public value; societally, social media fosters socialization; and individually, it fulfills public service employees’ basic psychological needs. These results offer context-specific modifications to two Western theories and advance the relationality turn in public administration scholarship.
Abad SantosP. M. T.CleofasJ. V.AustriaA. G. O.de GuzmanA. K. B.SarileB. A. F. (2023). The double-edged impact of Internet use on mental health outcomes among Filipino university students: the mediating role of online social support. Frontiers in Sociology, 8, 1132523.
BaoY.ZhongW. (2021). Public service motivation matters: Examining the differential effects of challenge and hindrance stressors on organizational identification and turnover intention. Public Management Review, 23(4), 545–566. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.1699944
4.
BartelsK.TurnbullN. (2020). Relational public administration: A synthesis and heuristic classification of relational approaches. Public Management Review, 22(9), 1324–1346. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.1632921
5.
BoltonR. N.ParasuramanA.HoefnagelsA.MigchelsN.KabadayiS.GruberT.LoureiroYKSolnetD. (2013). Understanding Generation Y and their use of social media: A review and research agenda. Journal of service management, 24(3), 245–267.
6.
CaoX.YuL. (2019). Exploring the influence of excessive social media use at work: A three-dimension usage perspective. International Journal of Information Management, 46, 83–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.11.019
7.
ChenC. A.KuoM. F. (2024). The perceived need for guanxi: Organizational, interpersonal, and individual antecedents. International Public Management Journal, 27(5), 769–787. https://doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2023.2289944
8.
ChenC.ZhangY.WuW.LiuJ.NiD.ZhengM. X.ZhangM.ZhangC. (2025). Not all information is from insiders: Linking information from social media and customers to newcomers’ pride, learning and socialization outcomes. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 98(1), e12568. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12568
9.
ChenD.ZhangY.Bayiz AhmadA.LiuB. (2024). Exploring the trickle-down effect of public service motivation from supervisors to their subordinates. International Public Management Journal, 27(5), 809–826. https://doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2024.2314042
10.
ChinY. C.ParkA.LiK. (2022). A comparative study on false information governance in Chinese and American social media platforms. Policy & Internet, 14(2), 263–283. https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.301
DashS. S.GuptaR.JenaL. K. (2022). Contrasting effects of leadership styles on public service motivation: The mediating role of basic psychological needs among Indian public sector officials. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 35(6), 659–675.
13.
DemirciogluM. A.ChenC. A. (2019). Public employees’ use of social media: Its impact on need satisfaction and intrinsic work motivation. Government Information Quarterly, 36(1), 51–60.
DuanJ.LuL.XieK. (2023). Examining knowledge construction in three social interactive learning environments: A comparison of knowledge networks, social networks, and social knowledge networks. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(6), 3914–3938. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2021.1944882
18.
FlorczakC.RasmussenS. H. R.JensenU. T.StritchJ. M.ChristensenK.NørgaardA. S.KlemmensenR. (2023). Exploring the foundational origins of public service motivation through the lens of behavioral genetics. Public Administration, 101(3), 993–1013. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12837
HameduddinT.EngbersT. (2022). Leadership and public service motivation: A systematic synthesis. International Public Management Journal, 25(1), 86–119.
21.
HayashiR.AsanoT. A.MorikawaS.KomatsuzakiS. (2024). Public service motivation and not-in-my-backyard: The case of high-level radioactive waste disposal sites in Japan. International Public Management Journal, 27(6), 948–971.
22.
HuangW. L. (2022). Changes in public service motivation: Can public administration education help cultivate it?International Review of Administrative Sciences, 88(4), 1176–1191. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208523211024334
23.
JensenU. T.KjeldsenA. M.VestergaardC. F. (2020). How is public service motivation affected by regulatory policy changes?International Public Management Journal, 23(4), 465–495. https://doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2019.1642268
24.
JingR.JinG.GuoY.ZhangY.LiL. (2023). The association between constant and new social media use and depressive symptoms among older adults in China: The role of structural social capital. Computers in Human Behavior, 138, Article 107480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107480
25.
KimS. (2009). Revising Perry’s measurement scale of public service motivation. The American Review of Public Administration, 39(2), 149–163.
26.
KimS. H.KimS. (2016). National culture and social desirability bias in measuring public service motivation. Administration & Society, 48(4), 444–476.
27.
KimG. J.KiN.YoonT. (2023). Untangling the association between goal clarity and public service motivation with the moderating role of value congruence. The American Review of Public Administration, 53(3–4), 159–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740231170013
28.
KoracS.SalitererI.WeigandB. (2019). Factors affecting the preference for public sector employment at the pre-entry level: A systematic review. International Public Management Journal, 22(5), 797–840.
29.
LeeH. J.KimM. Y.ParkS. M.RobertsonP. J. (2020). Public service motivation and innovation in the Korean and Chinese public sectors: Exploring the role of Confucian values and social capital. International Public Management Journal, 23(4), 496–534. https://doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2019.1639570
30.
LemmerK.JahnK.ChenA.NiehavesB. (2023). One tool to rule? – A field experimental longitudinal study on the costs and benefits of mobile device usage in public agencies. Government Information Quarterly, 40(3), Article 101836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2023.101836
31.
LuqiuL. R.KangY. (2021). Loyalty to WeChat beyond national borders: A perspective of media system dependency theory on techno-nationalism. Chinese Journal of Communication, 14(4), 451–468. https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2021.1921820
32.
MaD. (2017). User guide for the “China Netizens Social Awareness Survey” database (2017 edition) [Unpublished manuscript].
33.
MaD. (2018). User guide for the “China Netizens Social Awareness Survey” database (2018 edition) [Unpublished manuscript].
34.
MarchJ. G.OlsenJ. P. (1989). Rediscovering institutions: The organizational basis of politics (1st ed.). Free Press.
35.
NeumannO.SchottC. (2023). Behavioral effects of public service motivation among citizens: Testing the case of digital co-production. International Public Management Journal, 26(2), 175–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2021.1937413
36.
PerryJ. L. (1996). Measuring public service motivation: An assessment of construct reliability and validity. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 6(1), 5–22. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jpart.a024303
37.
PerryJ. L.WiseL. R. (1990). The motivational bases of public service. Public Administration Review, 50(3), 367–373. https://doi.org/10.2307/976618
PrysmakovaP. (2021). Contact with citizens and job satisfaction: Expanding person–environment models of public service motivation. Public Management Review, 23(9), 1339–1358. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2020.1751252
40.
RicoG.GuinjoanM.AnduizaE. (2020). Empowered and enraged: Political efficacy, anger and support for populism in Europe. European Journal of Political Research, 59(4), 797–816. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12374
41.
RitzA.BrewerG. A.NeumannO. (2016). Public service motivation: A systematic literature review and outlook. Public administration review, 76(3), 414–426.
42.
RoachC. M.SabharwalM.AbrahamR.Charles-SoverallW. (2022). Does the public service motivation model hold in the Caribbean?Review of Public Personnel Administration, 42(3), 514–536. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X21996042
43.
RosenbaumP. R.RubinD. B. (1983). The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika, 70(1), 41–55.
44.
RosenbaumP. R.RubinD. B. (2023). Propensity scores in the design of observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika, 110(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/asac054
45.
RuanL.Crete-NishihataM.KnockelJ.XiongR.DalekJ. (2021). The intermingling of state and private companies: Analysing censorship of the 19th national communist party congress on WeChat. The China Quarterly, 246, 497–526. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741020000491
46.
SchönherrL.ThalerJ. (2024). Personality traits and public service motivation as psychological antecedents of managerial networking. Public Management Review, 26(10), 2701–2727. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2023.2192218
47.
TangM.HuheN. (2020). Parsing the effect of the social media on regime support in China. Government and Opposition, 55(1), 130–146. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2017.39
48.
TangW.ZhangY. (2023). Revolution derailed: The struggle for media control and media freedom in China. Asian Politics & Policy, 15(4), 563–584. https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.12721
49.
VandenabeeleW. (2007). Toward a public administration theory of public service motivation: An institutional approach. Public Management Review, 9(4), 545–566. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719030701726697
50.
VandenabeeleW.BreaughJ. (2025). It takes two to tango: Concepts and evidence of further integration of public service motivation theory and self-determination theory. International Public Management Journal, 28(1), 133–152. https://doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2024.2386292
51.
VerkaS. T.SabharwalM.HassanS. (2025). Impact of public leadership on public service motivation and performance in complex environments. Public Administration and Development, 45, 16–31. https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.2069
52.
WangC.ZhuJ.ZhangD. (2024). The paradox of information control under authoritarianism: Explaining trust in competing messages in China. Political Studies, 72(4), 1431–1452. https://doi.org/10.1177/00323217231191399
53.
WangX.NiuX. (2024). Crowding-out or crowding-in? The impact of performance rating on public service motivation: Evidence from a Chinese local government. Administration & Society, 56(4), 307–338. https://doi.org/10.1177/00953997241233702
54.
WangZ.LiuH.LiT.ZhouL.ZhouM. (2023). The impact of social media use on citizens’ trust in government: The mediating role of sense of security. Systems, 11(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems11010047
55.
WilsonR.FrenchM.HesselgreavesH.LoweT.SmithM. (2024). New development: Relational public services—Reform and research agenda. Public Money & Management, 44, 553–558. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2024.2344902
56.
WitesmanE. M.ChristensenR. K. (2023). Elevating public service motivation research and practice. International Public Management Journal, 26(1), 46–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2021.1948470
57.
WooH.KimS. (2024). Public service motivation and public sector employment in Korea. Public Administration Review, 84(5), 966–981. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13796
58.
YuJ. (2023). Agency autonomy, public service motivation, and organizational performance. Public Management Review, 25(3), 522–548.
59.
ZhangL.TandocE. C.Jr.HanS. (2022). Rage or rationality: Exposure to Internet censorship and the impact on individual information behaviors in China. Policy & Internet, 14(4), 807–823. https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.314
60.
ZhuoF.YuanL. (2022). The impact of knowledge distance on turnover intention of millennial employees: From the perspective of Mianzi. Journal of Knowledge Management, 26(10), 2558–2578. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-07-2021-0542
