The public and private values of sector-switchers: exploring temporal dynamics and contextual effects
研究从私营部门转向公共部门的员工价值观变化，发现跨部门者与未跨部门者存在价值观差异，但再社会化对价值观的影响证据不一，组织情境对个体价值观的调节作用不显著。
Sector switching refers to individuals making career moves between private, public, and nonprofit sectors. We examine how moving from the private to the public sector shape employees’ values. To this end, we distinguish private sector values from those of the public sector. We theorize that sector-switchers have distinct values due to sector-imprinting, where formative experience in one sector shape individuals’ attitudes and behaviors even after switching. We add novel perspectives to sector switching research by examining how values change over time through re-socialization in new workplaces, and by testing how varying “public” and “private” value contexts within public organizations can realign sector-switchers’ values. Utilizing survey data collected from Norwegian ministries and central agencies (N = 2349), our analysis reveals value differences between sector-switchers and non-switchers yet presents mixed findings about re-socialization affecting value erosion and retention. We find no evidence that organizational contexts significantly alter sector-switchers’ values at the individual level. This study contributes to public management and administration scholarships by enhancing our understanding about potential repercussions of hiring employees with private sector backgrounds.