Strengthening Service Performance in Indonesian Public Sector

Quality service has become increasingly important in the public sector. Government services and their quality requirements are developing in response to changes in customers’ needs and expectations. The primary objective of the research was to strengthen public sector performance. It used a sustainable service view by examining professional public service as a mediating variable of service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality on sustainable service performance in Indonesia. A structured questionnaire was sent to public sector employees using a non-probability sampling method with convenience sampling. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses using the SmartPLS version 3.2.9. After assessing the measurement model, the results show that service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality affect sustainable service performance significantly. Furthermore, the professional public service strengthens the relationship of service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality on sustainable service performance. It also implies a novel result by demonstrating that professional public service can mediate service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality toward sustainable service performance. Although hard skills are essential for knowledge of service-oriented competence, the research findings show that soft skills, particularly socio-emotional ability, will assure the public sector’s sustainable service performance. Therefore, soft skill development is very important for enhancing socioemotional abilities.


INTRODUCTION
Performance measurement and management have risen to prominence as a critical area of research in public administration and management (Van Helden & Reichard, 2013). The field of public service suggests a shift toward market-oriented service provision, which means that the government's services prioritize customers or people (Hadiyati, 2014). Like other major organizations, the government has consumers, who are citizens, business owners, and public and private sector employees. Government delivers information and services to each customer group via agencies, departments, and ministries, and as a result, customers rate the performance offered (Hadiyati, 2014).
Delivering excellent service is now seen as a critical strategy for success and survival in today's global competitive climate. Service quality delivery and efficiency have become increasingly important in the public sector. Government services and their quality requirements are developing in response to the changes in customers' needs and expectations (Ramseook-Munhurrun, Lukea-Bhiwajee, & Naidoo, 2010). Moreover, public organizations have recognized that I N P R E S S delivering high-quality service results in sustainability and a competitive edge (Serafim & Veríssimo, 2021;Sung & Kim, 2021). The public sector organizations are under increasing pressure to improve the quality and efficiency of their services. When it comes to government services and the quality requirements that accompany them, clients' desires and expectations constantly shift (Ramseook-Munhurrun et al., 2010).
There are three factors that influence public servants' performance. The first factor is public policy engagement. It should be an important factor that can encourage them to pursue achievement and pride. The second component is intrinsically linked to motivation or capacity for public service officers. Along with feelings of love or empathy, a desire to help others. This characteristic is exemplified by the staff members who serve the group patiently. Finally, the selfsacrifice mindset comprises a nationalistic attitude, accountability for one's obligations, and commitment to one's country (Ko, Choi, Rhee, & Moon, 2018).
Workers' skills, knowledge, abilities, and experiences are referred to as human capital, and they combine to form an organization's overall capacity to manage tasks (Ahn & Kim, 2017). There are two types of organizational assets: tangible (like fund) and intangible (like human capital). The last one refers to the ability to use human resources and intricate conversion procedures in each functional department's operation while also controlling the effectiveness of organizational processes. It is known as organizational capabilities (Xu & Wang, 2018). The competitive advantage comes from organizational skills, while human capital is both an organizational resource and a corporate asset (Ma, Kao, Kao, & Cho, 2020;Xu & Wang, 2018). As a result, organizations in the public sector must invest in human capital. It is vital because, in today's fast-paced and changing environment, especially the public sector, employees' experiences, expertise, and abilities must operate successfully (Ali, Hussin, Haddad, Alkhodary, & Marei, 2021).
The importance of improving employees' positive attitudes towards their job cannot be overstated. A positive work attitude is the most important asset that an organization may have in its workforce. Work attitudes are employees' behavioral intention for their work and fall under the capacity category between knowledge, skills, and capabilities (Xu, Haris, & Yao, 2019). Such attitudes include organizational dedication, professional commitment, and service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior. There are many dimensions to employees' attitude toward their work, such as loyalty, dedication, and a willingness to demonstrate good customer service (Grego-Planer, 2019;Kaiser, 2014;Ma et al., 2020;Prada, 2019). One of the dimensions is workplace spirituality. Employees' attitude toward work affects how actively they apply the information or skill to their work and how well they integrate it into their capacities (Ali et al., 2021;Kucharčíková, Mičiak, & Hitka, 2018). It is especially true for public workers who deal with many people daily. The public sector needs to be strengthened to aid the public, their colleagues, supervisors, or organizations voluntarily based on their job functions to improve public service .
The research begins with the premise that the public sector can leverage social skills to enhance knowledge creation and sharing, resulting in superior innovation. The literature on social skill clearly stated that networks and relationships are resources. According to social skill theory, the relationships as intangible resources, strengthen the bond between individuals or organizational units. It can serve as a source of innovation at the organizational level (Ko et al., 2018). Furthermore, social skill improves employees' performance since it increases one's willingness and sense of duty to be more engaged (Ahn & Kim, 2017). However, the prior research proves that the role of workplace spirituality, social skill, serviceoriented behavior as catalysts for sustainable service performance are still rare. Therefore, the research is an attempt to fill some of the existing research gaps about this topic.
The research will contribute to existing research on service performance in public sector institutions since just a few studies on this subject have been conducted. The research identifies the enablers of sustainable service performance that serve as the foundation for the professional public service team. These enablers include service-oriented competence, social-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality. Then, the research examines the effect of the professional public service team on sustainable service performance as a mediating variable.
Performance is a multifaceted notion that may be viewed from various perspectives. It is the first consequence of a manufacturing process in which inputs are turned into outputs by activities and ultimately result in various results (Jang, 2021). Additionally, performance can be viewed as the embodiment of particular public values. In general, performance is associated with economy, efficiency, and effectiveness (3Es), as well as with equity. To deal with performance, the company requires measuring and acting to increase it. Measuring performance entails determining, estimating, and evaluating specific data concerning intended or realized performance. Typically, a collection of performance indicators is I N P R E S S established and quantified (Qiu, Lou, Zhang, & Wang, 2020;Van Helden & Reichard, 2013). Spirituality is often equated with religion in many people's minds. Spirituality is the highest form of belief in religion, but everyone can be spiritual without adhering to any particular faith. To be spiritual, people must have a sense of peace and direction in their life. It explains how someone feels about the work, whether it is a job or a hobby (Thakur & Singh, 2016). These brilliant, creative ideas appear when they least expect them because of spirituality. Spirituality gives rise to the values that define a person as a person of integrity, who respects people of all backgrounds and is loyal to their friends and loved ones (Thakur & Singh, 2016). However, workplace spirituality does not refer to a particular religion but a human-centered perspective based on self-awareness, life purpose, and community involvement. It is a new paradigm for working relationships to be established due to these alterations in the corporate structure. Work motivation and job satisfaction are two of these new paradigms closely linked to organizations' long-term viability (Bella, Quelhas, Ferraz, & Bezerra, 2018).
Workplace spirituality is a multifaceted and complex concept with no single universally accepted definition. It is also referred to as a purposeful place of work. No specific belief or religion is recognized or received in the context of workplace spirituality (Fatoki, 2019). Employees' spirituality can mean people's efforts to live out their values at work more fully. It can also mean a company-wide initiative designed to help employees to grow spiritually as part of their work. A three-pronged approach is used in the literature to explore this subject: inner life or spiritual identity, a sense of purpose, and a connection with others or the wider community (Bella et al., 2018).
When it comes to workplace spirituality, it connects to one's life's ultimate purpose, developing strong relationships with coworkers and others related to one's workplace, and making sure that personal beliefs and the company's values are in harmony or alignment with one another (Thakur & Singh, 2016). Some studies have shown that employees identify their work as spiritual seek more than just monetary compensation. Understanding a person's intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs is essential (Bella et al., 2018). Similarly, giving employees a sense of meaning and purpose is essential if the company wants them to work hard, be more productive, and develop new ideas. Working environments in organizations must also be built on strong ethical and spiritual values like compassion, integrity, respect, trust, collaboration, and forgiveness (Bella et al., 2018;Thakur & Singh, 2016). Moreover, public sector employees need to be customer-focused, not profit-driven, and empathetic. When making decisions, employees should be motivated by their work's intrinsic benefits and rewards rather than by external factors (Apell Employee engagement indirectly affects the relationship between workplace spirituality and prosocial behavior. There is a connection between the essence of a worker and the task they perform when this concept is applied. Working in the context of a community means recognizing that employees have an inner life that feeds and is fed by meaningful work (Bella et al., 2018). In other words, workplace spirituality has also been linked to organizational citizenship behavior, according to some research (Fatoki, 2019).
Next, many countries' economies have become increasingly reliant on the service sector. Organizations, both public and private, have realized that providing high-quality service will lead to sustainability and competitive advantage. Service quality is a critical success factor for organizations to maintain or increase their competitiveness, development, or growth. Researchers have proposed several definitions of service quality, which state that it entails conforming to requirements (Serafim & Veríssimo, 2021;Sung & Kim, 2021). Service quality means the ability of a service delivery system to coordinate with, match, or override the customers' desires (Pakurár, Haddad, Nagy, Popp, & Oláh, 2019;Serafim & Veríssimo, 2021). Service quality can also be defined as the extent to which organizations meet or exceed their customers' expectations (Serafim & Veríssimo, 2021;Sung & Kim, 2021). Ten elements of service quality have been proposed, including tangibles, such as dependability and responsiveness, and competencies, such as civility and credibility (Pakurár et al., 2019. Moreover, there are five pillars to the service quality model: dependability, responsiveness, assurances, empathy, and tangible results (Pakurár et al., 2019;Pan & Ha, 2021).
Social skill serves as an essential means to provide employees with social support. It helps employees to have better access to necessary information and resources for completing their jobs and provides them with better career sponsorship from other organizational members. Employees can have a broad range of social support, including informational, instrumental, and emotional support (Sánchez-Pujalte, Mateu, Etchezahar, & Gómez Yepes, 2021). Employees who have strong social skills will interact with coworkers frequently, share their difficulties, give and receive help, and exchange information on effective ways to deal with customers (Di Fabio & Saklofske, 2019). Through these interactions, they are more likely to consider themselves a valuable part of the organization and recognize its commitment. Then, this situation will facilitate their job engagement (Ko et al., 2018).
Moreover, in social skills, there are socioemotional competencies. It is described as an individual's capacity to regulate emotions and emotional behavior. The competencies include emotional regulation, pro-sociality, emotional autonomy, and empathy (Di Next, there is professional public service. Pro-social behaviors, also known as Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), are employees' actions that are not specified in an individual job description or employment contract but are beneficial to the organization's overall performance. It is carried out by personal motivation to help their teammates and the organization rather than financial gain. It means that they do these things out of a desire to assist their teammates and the firm, not to be rewarded (Grego-Planer, 2019; Ko et al., 2018). Moreover, according to Podsakoff and MacKenzie in Mansouri, Singh, and Khan (2018) and Khan et al. (2020), OCB has seven dimensions: sportsmanship, helpful behavior (altruism), civic virtue, organizational loyalty, self-development, organizational compliance, and individual initiative.
According to Organ in Freire and Gonçalves (2021), There are five dimensions of OCB. First, altruism refers to when employees assist coworkers with relevant duties and tasks required by the job. Second, courtesy means that employees are polite, show consideration for others, and treat others with respect. Third, there is conscientiousness. Employees conscientiously perform tasks, even if it is not standard practice. Fourth, in sportsmanship, employees demonstrate a positive attitude toward others. Finally, civic virtue means that employees can freely engage in the governance of their employer.
The research identifies the variables that impact sustainable service performance. Then, the research examines professional public service as a mediating variable of service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, workplace spirituality on sustainable service performance. Thus, through a detailed literature search, the following hypotheses are proposed.
H1: Service-oriented competence has a significant impact on professional public service H2: Socio-emotional ability has a significant impact on professional public service.
H3: Workplace spirituality has a significant impact on professional public service.
H4: Professional public service has a significant mediating impact on sustainable service performance.
H5: Service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality have a significant impact on sustainable service performance simultaneously.

METHODS
The research applies a quantitative design to conduct empirical research to examine professional public service as a mediating variable of service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality on sustainable service performance. Then, the studied variables are quantified using a 5-point Likert scale (strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree). Each construct is quantified in the following measurement. Sustainable service performance is assessed using 12 items developed by Andersen et al. (2016), Tajeddini (2011), Van Helden and Reichard (2013), and Wynen et al. (2016). Then, professional public service is measured with six items developed by Freire and Gonçalves (2021), Grego-Planer (2019), and Khan et al. (2020). Next, workplace spirituality uses three items from Bella et al. (2018) and Thakur and Singh (2016). Service-oriented competence has six items developed by Ahn and Kim (2017) and Ko et al. (2018). Last, socio-emotional ability uses five items developed by Sanchez-Gomez and Breso (2019) and Sánchez-Pujalte et al. (2021).
The emphasis of the research is on officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Primary data are collected using a structured questionnaire from February to May 2021. A structured questionnaire is sent to 160 workers using a non-probability sampling method using convenience sampling, and the answers are kept private. A sample that has bias responses and missing data values is expunged (Sarstedt, Ringle, & Hair, 2021). Around 79% or 126 respondents responded. The high response rate is primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, which has provided participants more time to reply.
The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) used to test the research hypotheses using the SmartPLS version 3.2.9. The SEM analysis is a two-step process that starts with assessing the measurements and concludes with assessing the structural model (Sun, Ji, & Ye, 2013). To begin with, the researchers must assess the Internal Consistency (ICR), Convergent Validity (CV), and Discriminant Validity (DV) for their dependability. ICR measures how well components capture latent ideas. It is determined by using a composite dependability rating (CR). Then, CV is defined as the degree to which one variable correlates well with another variable in measuring the same notion. The factor loading and the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) are computed to verify that CV construction is accurate. At a minimum, the factor loading must be 0,708, and 0,70 is deemed acceptable. However, indicators with lower factor loadings (i.e., 0,40 to 0,70) may be retained as long as the overall construct adequately accounts for at least 50% of the variation (AVE of 0,50) (Sarstedt et al., 2021).
Another criterion for determining the concept's validity is DV. DV is the extent to which a concept deviates entirely from other constructs in terms of empirical standards (Sarstedt et al., 2021). In the research, the DV is assessed using Fornell and Larcker criteria. The square root of the AVE value should be higher than the squared correlation with other variables (Sun et al., 2013). Table 1 contains the values of the elements CR and AVE. The results indicate that all components had CR scores of more than 0.7, suggesting that the scales employed in the research have a high degree of internal consistency (Sarstedt et al., 2021). Additionally, all AVE values surpass the 0,5 thresholds, suggesting a good CV. Table 2 demonstrates that the DV is satisfying. The correlations between latent constructs are compared to the square root of the mean variance (Sun et al., 2013). The square root of the mean-variance is greater than the correlation of the latent components.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
As a result, it shows that an adequate level of DV has been achieved.
The structural model's results are presented after validation of the measurement model's validity and reliability. In the research, a bootstrap resampling method of 5.000 repeats and 300 times are employed to evaluate the significance of route coefficients (Sarstedt et al., 2021). R 2 (see Table 3) indicates the  (Sarstedt et al., 2021).
After assessing the measurement model, the SmartPLS boot tool is used to evaluate the relevance of the path coefficients. Table 3 summarizes these results. H1, H2, and H3 are entirely compatible, implying that service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality can predict professional public service. Additionally, H5 is also supported. It means that service-oriented competence, socioemotional ability, and workplace spirituality affect sustainable service performance significantly.
H1 states that service-oriented competence has a significant impact on professional public service. The research result proves that service-oriented competence has a substantial effect on professional public service. According to Grego-Planer (2019) and Ko et al. (2018), it indicates that government employees with the competence to orient themselves to public service can act in the national interest. Unlike commercial companies, they continue to provide good services to the community and do exemplary service.
H2 is about a significant impact of socioemotional ability on professional public service. The research result shows that socio-emotional ability has a substantial effect on professional public service. It implies that workers' socio-emotional ability seems to benefit the professional public service. It provides employees with improved access to the necessary information and resources to perform their jobs and increased career sponsorship from other organizational members. In addition, employees with strong social skills will frequently interact with coworkers, share their difficulties, provide, and receive assistance, and exchange information on effective customer service techniques. The result agrees with the research conducted by Di Fabio and Saklofske (2019) and Ko et al. (2018).
H3 is also accepted that workplace spirituality significantly impacts professional public service. The result supports the research by Bella et al. (2018) and Thakur and Singh (2016). It shows that self-awareness, a sense of purpose in life, and community involvement are all necessary components. As a result of these changes in corporate structure, a new paradigm for working relationships is emerging.

I N P R E S S
H5 states that service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality have a significant impact on sustainable service performance simultaneously. The hypothesis is accepted. The results show that service-oriented competence, socioemotional ability, and workplace spirituality impact sustainable service performance. Finally, from the results of these three variables, it is shown that socioemotional ability has the most significant influence on the sustainable service performance in public service sector. At the same time, service-oriented competence has the most negligible impact on sustainable service performance. The research contributes novel findings by simultaneously analyzing the significant impact of service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality on sustainable service performance.
As suggested by Sarstedt et al. (2021), the bootstrapping technique is employed to assess the significance of the indirect effect. Bootstrapping makes no assumptions about the distribution of statistical samples or the form of the variable distribution. It may also be employed safely with a small sample size. As a result, when the PLS-SEM approach is used, the bootstrapping method is excellent for assessing indirect effects.
Based on Table 4, H4 is accepted. Professional public service significantly impacts sustainable service performance. The result shows that professional public service acts as a mediator between serviceoriented competence, socio-emotional ability, workplace spirituality towards sustainable service performance. Furthermore, the professional public service strengthens the relationship of service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, workplace spirituality on sustainable service performance. It also implies a novel result by demonstrating that professional public service can mediate serviceoriented competence, socio-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality toward sustainable service performance.
The research findings indicate that although hard skills are critical for knowledge of serviceoriented competence, soft skills, particularly socioemotional ability, will ensure the sustainability of the public sector. Additionally, soft skill training is critical to improving socio-emotional ability. The research concludes that socio-emotional ability can be incorporated into selection methods to measure the soft skills of prospective government employees. Then, the result reveals that socio-emotional ability has a more significant impact on the sustainable service performance than service-oriented competence as a component of complex skills. It has a significant effect on sustainable service performance. Another consideration is improving the professional behavior of each employee in terms of social capital and achievement motivation. Moreover, creating an atmosphere that encourages creativity and innovation can be achieved through various means, including the provision of supportive working conditions, educational opportunities, and opportunities for personal growth.

CONCLUSIONS
The research aims to strengthen public sector performance. There are several conclusions. First, service-oriented competence has a significant impact on professional public service. The government personnel can self-orient to public service and genuinely act in the national interest. Unlike commercial enterprises, they continue to deliver good services and do the right thing. It suggests that prospective government employees' cognitive and service-oriented skills should be evaluated during the selection process.
Second, the findings also reveal that socioemotional ability significantly impacts professional public service. Employees' usage of socio-emotional ability benefits the public sector as a whole. Having better access to information and resources allows employees to do their jobs more effectively, giving them more career support from other members of the organization. In addition, workers with a high level of social skills are more likely to communicate with coworkers regularly, share their problems, offer and receive assistance, and exchange tips on efficient customer service strategies.
Third, workplace spirituality has a significant impact on professional public service. It demonstrates the importance of self-awareness, a life purpose, and being active in the community. This shift in corporate structure has resulted in a change in the way people interact at work.

I N P R E S S
Fourth, the research proves that service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality affect sustainable service performance. These factors have a significant impact on long-term service performance. The results suggest that socioemotional ability has the most significant influence on sustainable service performance. Meanwhile, service-oriented competence has the smallest impact on sustained service performance.
Fifth, it appears that professional public service serves as a mediator for the three components of sustainable service performance (service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality). The SmartPLS findings prove that professional public service is a mediating variable between service-oriented competence, socio-emotional ability, and workplace spirituality on sustainable service performance. It implies that the professional public service in significantly strengthening the impact of these factors on sustainable service performance.
One of the research limitations is the limited sample size of participants from the public sector. The research findings are based on responses to the questionnaire survey supplied by representatives of the organizations under investigation. Hence, a more in-depth investigation of the organizational issue should be carried out to raise the significance of the research in the future. Additionally, it is necessary to contextualize the inquiry within another public sector environment to draw generalizable conclusions from the samples used. Finally, the future is needed to determine how the findings on training efficacy are implemented into the public sector's strategic goals and training programs, particularly in good serviceoriented development and employee career planning.