The relation between market forces and employee motivation: consequences of the introduction of market forces in the Dutch childcare sector

The Dutch childcare sector has undergone a transition from a welfare sector into a market sector. The final step in this transition process was taken with the introduction of a new Dutch Childcare Act on 1 January 2005. In discussions about the introduction of market forces, the possible effects on employees are usually not taken into consideration. This is remarkable given that it is generally assumed that employee motivation in the public sector differs from employee motivation in the private sector. This article focuses on the consequences of the introduction of market forces in the Dutch childcare sector for the motivation of childminders. The sample consists of 477 childminders working for 30 different Dutch childcare providers. The results show that the extent to which childcare providers are confronted with market forces is neither related to the employees’ governance nor to the intrinsic motivation of childminders