Fabian Homberg

Organizational Control Systems and Pay-for-Performance in the Public Service

Under certain conditions, output related performance measurement and pay-for-performance produce negative outcomes. We argue that in public service, these negative effects are stronger than in the private sector. We combine Behavioural Economics and Management Control Theory to determine under which conditions this is the case. We suggest as alternatives to the dominant output related pay-for-performance systems selection and socialization, exploratory use of output performance measures, and awards.

Top Management Team Diversity A Systematic Review

Empirical research investigating the impact of top management team (TMT) diversity on executives’ decision making has produced inconclusive results. To synthesize and aggregate the results on the diversity-performance link, a meta-regression analysis (MRA) is conducted. It integrates more than 200 estimates from 53 empirical studies investigating TMT diversity and its impact on the quality of executives’ decision making as reflected in corporate performance. The analysis contributes to the literature by theoretically discussing and empirically examining the effects of TMT diversity on corporate performance. Our results do not show a link between TMT diversity and performance but provide evidence for publication bias. Thus, the findings raise doubts on the impact of TMT diversity on performance.

Monastic Governance: Forgotten Prospects for Public Institutions

To overcome agency problems, public sector reforms started to introduce businesslike incentive structures to motivate public officials. By neglecting internal behavioral incentives, however, these reforms often do not reach their stated goals. This research analyzes the governance structure of Benedictine monasteries to gain new insights into solving agency problems in public institutions. A comparison is useful because members of both organizational forms, public organizations and monasteries, see themselves as responsible participants in their community and claim to serve the public good. This research studies monastic governance from an economic perspective. Benedictine monasteries in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, and German-speaking Switzerland have an average lifetime of almost 500 years, and only a quarter of them broke up because of agency problems. The authors argue that they were able to survive for centuries because of an appropriate governance structure, relying strongly on the intrinsic motivation of the members and internal control mechanisms. This governance approach differs in several aspects from current public sector reforms.

Human resource management (HRM) and public service motivation (PSM): Where are we, and where do we go from here?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to the special issue on public service motivation (PSM) and human resource management (HRM). The authors analyse and review how the literatures on HRM and PSM relate to each other. Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines two complementary studies: a bibliometric analysis of the interrelationships between the two literatures and a meta-analysis of the impact of HR practices on PSM. Findings – Although HRM is among the core subject categories to which the literature on PSM refers, the pre-eminence of HR topics self-reported by PSM researchers indicates large room for further transfer. Intrinsic HR practices show positive and significant effects on PSM, while no such association was found for extrinsic HR practices. Originality/value – The editorial is a complement to a recent bibliometric review of PSM research, focusing more particularly on the interrelationships with HRM and applying hitherto unused techniques. It is also the first...

Abusive supervision, public service motivation, and employee deviance: the moderating role of employment sector

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine abusive supervision and public service motivation (PSM) as antecedents of deviant workplace behaviours. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted in a cross-sectional research design with survey data from 150 employees in the public, private, and non-profit sector in Germany and the USA. Findings Abusive supervision is positively associated with employee deviance, whereas PSM is negatively related to deviant behaviours. The employment sector moderates the negative relationship between PSM and employee deviance such that this relationship is stronger in the public and non-profit sector. Research limitations/implications Limitations arise from the convenience sampling approach and the cross-sectional nature of the data set. Practical implications Human resource managers should consider behavioural integrity in the attraction, selection, and training of both supervisors and subordinates. Private organisations can address the needs of strongly public service motivated employees by integrating associated goals and values into organisational missions and policies. Originality/value This is the first study to introduce PSM into research on employee deviance. It shows that a pro-social motivation can drive anti-social behaviours when employees with high levels of PSM are members of profit-seeking organisations.

Adaptation to Externally Driven Change: The Impact of Political Change on Job Satisfaction in the Public Sector

This article uses a quasi-natural experiment to investigate the adaptation of job satisfaction to externally driven political change in the public sector. This is important because democratic government bureaucracies often experience changes in leadership after elections. The analyses are based on data drawn from a large longitudinal data set, the British Household Panel Survey. Findings indicate that the impact of political elections is largely weak and temporary and is only present for men. For women, the internal processes of the organization tend to be more important. These findings suggest that changes in political leadership may not be associated with fundamental changes in policy.

Team Problem Solving and Motivation under Disorganization – An agent-based modeling approach.

Purpose This paper aims at simulating on how “disorganization” affects team problem solving. The prime objective is to determine how team problem solving varies between an organized and disorganized environment also considering motivational aspects. Design/methodology/approach Using agent-based modeling, the authors use a real-world data set from 226 volunteers at five different types of non-profit organizations in Southwest England to define some attributes of the agents. The authors introduce the concepts of natural, structural and functional disorganization while operationalizing natural and functional disorganization. Findings The simulations show that “disorganization” is more conducive for problem solving efficiency than “organization” given enough flexibility (range) to search and acquire resources. The findings further demonstrate that teams with resources above their hierarchical level (access to better quality resources) tend to perform better than teams that have only limited access to resources. Originality/value The nuanced categories of “(dis-)organization” allow us to compare between various structural limitations, thus generating insights for improving the way managers structure teams for better problem solving.

The Effects of Disorganization on Goals and Problem Solving

This chapter presents an agent-based simulation of the ability of employees to solve problems. The primary aim of the chapter is to discern the difference in problem solving under two structural conditions. One has rigid structural constraints imposed on the agents while the other has very little structural constraints (called “disorganization” in this work). The simulation further utilizes organizational goals as a basis for motivation and studies the effects of disorganization on goals and motivation. Results from the simulation show that, under the condition of a more disorganized environment, the number of problems solved is relatively higher than under the condition of a less disorganized and more structured environment.

The challenges and future of trade unionism in Algeria: a lost cause?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the realities of Algerian employee relations and the challenges autonomous trade unionists encounter in their activities, which are normally far removed from the eyes of the international community. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Algerian autonomous trade union leaders, union members and non-members. The collected data were analysed using a thematic approach. Findings – The interview results brought into relief the challenges of Algerian trade unionism with the following four themes: first, scepticism towards the only government-affiliated trade union in Algeria; second, the relationship between autonomous unions and the government; third, strike actions and intimidation/harassment; and fourth, views of non-trade unionists and the future of Algerian trade unionism. Research limitations/implications – The sensitivity of the topic and widespread fear limited the number of interviewees and the l...

Recruitment messaging, environmental fit and public service motivation: experimental evidence on intentions to apply for public sector jobs

Public organisations face increasing challenges to attract young and highly qualified staff. Previous studies have shown that public service motivation (PSM) is associated with a higher propensity to apply for public sector jobs, but the implications from these findings for the design of the recruitment process are still unclear. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how differently framed recruitment messages (i.e. inspirational and rational) affect perceptions of person-job (PJ) and person-organisation (PO) fit, how these associations are moderated by PSM and how they translate into application intentions.,The authors conducted a survey experiment and tested the hypotheses in a sample of 600 students in Germany. The experimental stimuli were hypothetical job advertisements in which inspirational and rational messages on organisational missions and job tasks were varied.,Results show that recruitment messaging, as mediated by perceived PJ and PO fit, can increase application intentions depending on the framing of the messages. Inspirational framings are more effective in attracting personnel than rational framings, especially when such messages convey specific and extensive information about job tasks. The extent to which recruitment messages translate into perceptions of fit depends, in part, on the level of the applicant’s PSM.,By focusing on recruitment messages and their framings, this study is among the few that explore how human resource management can capitalise on previous findings of research on PSM. The findings have implications for the selection and presentation of information on organisational missions and job tasks in the recruitment process. In a more theoretical vein, results contribute to the emerging consensus on the role of perceived PJ and PO fit in the attraction to public sector jobs. The authors deepen this reasoning by introducing self-discrepancy theory to the field of public management.