The Effects of Public Service Motivation on Collaborative Behavior: Evidence from Three Experimental Games

ABSTRACT: Although research on the antecedents of collaboration is vast, no study has examined the effects of public service motivation (PSM). The current study relates PSM to decisions on whether or not to collaborate, while controlling for the Big Six personality traits. Empirical evidence is gathered by means of an experimental design based on three different prisoner's dilemma games. Results indicate that PSM affects collaboration when the individual decides to collaborate or not as a first mover, before knowing what the counterpart decides, and as a second player provided that the counterpart has decided not to collaborate.