Performance Rewards and Job Satisfaction in More and Less Developed Countries: Multi‐Level Evidence From Bureaucrats in 10 Countries

Cantarelli, Paola; Meyer-Sahling, Jan-Hinrik; Mikkelsen, Kim Sass; Schuster, Christian

Abstract

Do the same management practices lead to greater job satisfaction in poorer and richer countries? Despite the centrality of this question, prior research has not statistically assessed it through multi-country studies. We address this omission for one quintessential OECD country management reform: linking rewards—pay and promotion—to performance. We argue that performance rewards matter more for job satisfaction in richer than in poorer countries—for instance, because of fewer concerns with pay variability and fewer value clashes between cultural expectations and performance reward systems. In multi-level analyses of an original survey of 19,300 bureaucrats in 10 countries in Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, we find that the association between performance rewards and job satisfaction significantly increases with country GDP per capita. Our findings underscore the potential limits of management practices inspired by evidence in OECD states for job satisfaction in developing country governments.

Citation

Cantarelli, P., Meyer-Sahling, J.-H., Mikkelsen, K. S., & Schuster, C. (2025). Performance Rewards and Job Satisfaction in More and Less Developed Countries: Multi‐Level Evidence From Bureaucrats in 10 Countries. Public Administration, https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.13069

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 22, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Jun 9, 2025
• Publication Date: Jun 9, 2025
• Deposit Date: May 13, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 10, 2027
• Journal: Public Administration
• Print ISSN: 0033-3298
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-9299
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.13069
• Keywords: performance rewards; job satisfaction; comparative public administration; cross-country survey; development
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/48984973
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/padm.13069