Red Tape, Resigned Satisfaction, Public Service Motivation, and Negative Employee Attitudes and Behaviors: Testing a Model of Moderated Mediation

We examine the effect of red tape on resigned satisfaction, Public Service Motivation (PSM), and negative employee attitudes and behaviors. Based on responses of 217 public servants, this study demonstrates the role of resigned satisfaction as a mediating mechanism for transferring the effect of red tape on negative employee outcomes. PSM was hypothesized as an individual difference variable that can either mitigate or exacerbate the indirect effect of red tape on employee attitudes and behaviors. Our study is among the first few that demonstrate the dark side of PSM. We found that PSM exacerbates the adverse effects of red tape on negative employee attitudes and behaviors and that these effects are transmitted through the mechanism of resigned satisfaction. These findings are at odds with the dominant conception that employees having higher levels of PSM tend to pursue their motivations of public service despite excessive formalization and procedural constraints.