When Does Public Service Motivation Fuel the Job Satisfaction Fire? The Joint Moderation of Person-Organization Fit and Needs-Supplies Fit

Given the mixed findings regarding the direct effect of public service motivation on job satisfaction, we theorize that the relationship is moderated by the joint effects of person-organization fit and needs-supplies fit. Based on 623 full-time public employees in China, our results reveal a significant three-way interaction effect: employees have higher job satisfaction when public service motivation, person-organization fit, and needs-supplies fit are all high, but lower job satisfaction when public service motivation, person-organization fit, and needs-supplies fit are all low. Moreover, public service motivation fuels the job satisfaction fire when both person-organization fit and needs-supplies fit are low.