Does love of money matter for innovative work behavior in public sector organizations? Evidence from Indonesia

Purpose: This paper aims to test the impact of public service motivation (PSM) and love of money (LOM) on innovative work behavior (IWB) and the moderating role of love of money on the relationship between PSM IWB in the public-sector environment. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 400 sets of questionnaires were distributed to camat (district heads) and lurah (sub-district heads), civil servants in Yogyakarta municipality, Indonesia. The final sample selected for analysis was comprised of 241 paired data responses. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the study's hypotheses. Findings: This study found that PSM does not positively influence IWB, whereas LOM does. This study also confirmed the moderating role of LOM in the relationship between PSM and IWB. Research limitations/implications: First, the sample size is limited to civil servants working at districts (kecamatan) and sub-districts (kelurahan) in Yogyakarta municipality. Such a limited amount of sample may have an impact on the findings. Second, causal inferences are difficult to achieve as this study employed cross-sectional data. Longitudinal studies should, thus, be considered for future studies. Third, most respondents are 46–50 years old. Practical implications: Leaders in public organizations should consider the living conditions of their civil servants when drafting policies to encourage innovative behavior. Theoretically, intrinsic motivation is the dominant factor that encourages people to behave innovatively. This theory, however, may not be viable when applied in a condition where civil servants face a difficult life as a result of their relatively low level of salary. Under such conditions, monetary reward policy can subsequently be an alternative to encourage them to behave innovatively. Social implications: Leaders should carefully pay attention to this policy and follow what Tang and Ciu (2003) and Frey and Jegen (2001) suggest. As an LOM attitude can lead to improper behaviors (Tang and Ciu, 2003), monetary rewards should be used as a support rather than as a control in reference to the civil servants. Moreover, leaders should consistently maintain the sustainability of their monetary policy to improve IWB. This is because they have changed their focus to monetary rewards rather than intrinsic motivation. When this policy is terminated, it may impact the diminishing IWB. Originality/value: Scholars and practitioners agree that IWB can help public-sector organizations improve performance. While most existing research has been conducted in the context of the private sector, this study investigates IWB in the context of public sector organizations. Previous studies have also indicated that the battle between two approaches, utilitarianism and romanticism, continues. Therefore, this study is designed to enrich the debate about this struggle between the two approaches in order to uncover ideas that help explain IWB in a developing country. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.