Alexander Kroll

Drivers of Performance Information Use: Systematic Literature Review and Directions for Future Research

ABSTRACT The use of performance information in decision-making is a management behavior that has received much attention in public administration research and practice. This article seeks to contribute to a better understanding of this behavior. It conducts a systematic review of 25 recently published empirical studies that have examined drivers of performance information use. Analyzing these studies, which were selected on the basis of their definition of purposeful data use, the article identifies factors that have repeatedly shown a positive impact: measurement system maturity, stakeholder involvement, leadership support, support capacity, innovative culture, and goal clarity. This systematic analysis also uncovers less conclusive variables; findings which are highly relevant for future studies. Based on the review, the article suggests directions for further research endeavors, including theoretical and methodological propositions.

The Stability and Change of PSM-Related Values Across Time: Testing Theoretical Expectations Against Panel Data

ABSTRACT This article is a response to calls in prior research that we need more longitudinal analyses to better understand the foundations of PSM and related prosocial values. There is wide agreement that it is crucial for theory building but also for tailoring hiring practices and human resource development programs to sort out whether PSM-related values are stable or developable. The article summarizes existent theoretical expectations, which turn out to be partially conflicting, and tests them against multiple waves of data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study which covers a time period of 16 years. It finds that PSM-related values of public employees are stable rather than dynamic but tend to increase with age and decrease with organizational membership. The article also examines cohort effects, which have been neglected in prior work, and finds moderate evidence that there are differences between those born during the Second World War and later generations.

Exploring the Link Between Performance Information Use and Organizational Performance: A Contingency Approach

ABSTRACT This article contributes to the still relatively small body of empirical literature on the relationship between performance management and organizational performance. It focuses on the effects of performance information use for managerial and oversight purposes. Using a contingency perspective, it argues that the effect of data use on performance is dependent on other contextual factors. The article finds support for this claim, showing that the impact of managerial information use on performance is stronger in organizations that have adopted a prospecting strategy, whereas this effect tends to vanish for reactors. It also finds, however, that the relationship between a principal’s data use for oversight purposes and the agent’s performance is not contingent on whether the principal is perceived as a monitor or a trusted partner. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

The Role of Organizational Social Capital in Performance Management

ABSTRACT This article introduces the concept of organizational social capital and connects it to research on performance management, providing a conceptual definition and discussing related measurement issues. The article theorizes that structural (“social interaction”), relational (“trust”), and cognitive (“common goals”) organizational social capital foster the use of performance information and thereby relates social capital to an outcome variable that has recently received much attention in research on performance management reforms. The article bridges performance management studies to the broader organizational science literature, pointing out a gap in prior work and setting the stage for further research.

Prosocial Attitudes in the Public and Private Sector: Exploring Behavioral Effects and Variation across Time

This paper will contribute to a growing body of research on the concept of public service motivation and its effects. It addresses two important though still largely unexplored questions: How stable or dynamic are prosocial attitudes, and do differences among employees or the individual changes in their attitudes over time matter, in order to explain the performance of prosocial behavior? To learn more about public employees in this respect, the paper will compare them with their counterparts in the private sector and explore multiple waves of data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study that covers a time period of sixteen years. We find that prosocial attitudes are mostly stable, there are no socialization effects in either sector, and differences among employees matter a great deal. We also detect longitudinal effects, suggesting that increases in prosocial motivation trigger related behaviors, however, at the risk of neglecting others.

Motivating and Retaining Government Employees: The Role of Organizational Social Capital

ABSTRACT While a great deal of attention has been given to the role of performance pay and extrinsic rewards in understanding how to motivate and retain employees, this study points towards the importance of organizational social capital, defined as the sum of collaboration, trust, and value congruence among employees. Using a four-year panel data set of 170 federal agencies, we find a positive effect of social capital on intrinsic motivation but contradicting effects on turnover. Changes in social capital across time mitigate turnover intention but are unrelated to turnover behavior. A cross-sectional analysis shows, however, that the relationship between social capital and turnover behavior is curvilinear and has an inverted u-shape. The findings suggest that social capital can be a double-edged sword, as it is harmful in lower doses but beneficial if a critical mass of employees can participate in the social network, thereby avoiding conflict-laden in- and out-group constellations.

Changes in Prosocial Motivation over Time: A Cross-Sector Analysis of Effects on Volunteering and Work Behavior

ABSTRACT A gap in research on prosocial motivation is that very little is known about its change across time, let alone, how such changes affect employee behavior. Using multiple waves of panel data, covering a period of sixteen years, this article finds that prosocial motivation is mostly stable, and there are no broader socialization effects in the private and public sector. However, when prosocial motivation increases, it leads to increases in either work or volunteering behavior, suggesting that public employees may use alternative outlets to realize their motivation if such motivational capital cannot be linked to the mission of their organizations.