From Organizational Practices to Public Value: A Human-Centric Model of Employee Proactive Behavior in Public Service Organizations

Abstract

Abstract

This study acknowledges the role of high-involvement work practices (HIWPs) in promoting proactive behavior among public organization employees, addressing the need to obtain further insights into the mechanisms and identify contingencies (i.e., both conditional and individual factors) that might impede the effectiveness of such practices. This builds on emerging empirical studies in the public management literature by drawing on social exchange theory and social cognitive theory to empirically test the impact of HIWPs on employees’ proactive behavior, using data collected through a two-wave, time-lagged survey design with a one-month interval from Turkish public organizations. The mediating role of public relations values was also examined, along with the moderating roles of role breadth self-efficacy and employees’ use of normative public values. Relying on 554 data obtained from Turkish public organization employees, this study finds that HIWPs positively impact employees’ proactive behavior and public relations values. Public relations values positively impact employees’ proactive behavior and partially mediate the link between HIWPs and employees’ proactive behavior. Role breadth self-efficacy moderates the positive relationship between HIWPs and public relations values, with the relationship being stronger for employees with high role breadth self-efficacy than for those with low. Employees’ use of normative public values moderates the positive link between public relations values and employees’ proactive behavior, with the relationship being stronger for employees with high use of normative public values than for those with low. The main theoretical and practical implications of the study’s outcomes are outlined and discussed, along with important future research directions. The findings highlight the importance of human-centric organizational practices in fostering public value in VUCA-D environments. By enabling proactive behavior, public organizations can enhance adaptability, support value co-creation with citizens, and strengthen trust in public service systems.