Does Ownership Matter? Public Service Motivation Among Physiotherapists in the Private and Public Sectors in Denmark

Is public service motivation (PSM) higher in the public sector than in the private sector? Or does the level of PSM depend on the task rather than on the sector in which the employee works? It is often difficult to investigate sector differences, as private and public employees typically perform different tasks. Here, we investigate the differences in the PSM levels for a single occupational group performing the same tasks in the private and public sectors: Danish physiotherapists. The article also aims to investigate whether public and private sector employment is related to different types of PSM. The most important findings are that there is no difference in the general level of PSM between employees performing the same tasks in public and private organizations, but whereas private sector physiotherapists seem to be more narrowly oriented toward the user, public sector physiotherapists have a broader orientation toward the public interest.