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Private Sector Imprinting: An Examination of the Impacts of Private Sector Job Experience on Public Manager's Work Attitudes
Author(s) -
Boardman Craig,
Bozeman Barry,
Ponomariov Branco
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
public administration review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.721
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1540-6210
pISSN - 0033-3352
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2009.02110.x
Subject(s) - private sector , public sector , workforce , work (physics) , business , job satisfaction , public relations , labour economics , imprinting (psychology) , economics , political science , management , economic growth , economy , mechanical engineering , biochemistry , chemistry , engineering , gene
What are the attitudes of public managers who have had full‐time private sector work experience? Public managers with private sector work experience report different perspectives when compared to their counterparts who have spent their entire careers in the public sector. Though private sector work experience negatively correlates with job satisfaction, it only does so for the “new switcher,” whose last job was in the private sector. As careers advance, the negative impact seems to wane, leaving a public sector workforce that, in part as a result of their private sector work experience, are relatively more intrinsically motivated and involved in their jobs. We conclude with discussion of implications for human resources management.