Justin M. Stritch

The Opportunities and Limitations of Using Mechanical Turk (MTURK) in Public Administration and Management Scholarship

ABSTRACT Other social science fields are increasingly conducting research using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk)—an online crowdsourcing platform—but how might MTurk be useful to public administration and management research? This article provides an introduction of the platform and considers both the opportunities and limitations for using MTurk in public administration and management scholarship. We find that MTurk might be relevant for examining particular types of research questions. We identify five areas where MTurk data may complement and enhance public administration and management research: (1) exploratory analyses and survey construction; (2) measurement refinement of latent constructs; (3) experiments; (4) longitudinal research and data collection; and (5) collection of data from citizens. The article emphasizes how a key requisite conditions both the applicability of MTurk data and the validity of MTurk-based findings: the researcher must understand the boundaries and potential of the platform, since the issues related to representativeness, participation, and data quality are non-trivial.

Minding the Time: A Critical Look at Longitudinal Design and Data Analysis in Quantitative Public Management Research

Public management scholars are looking to longitudinal research designs and data to help overcome the many limitations associated with cross-sectional research. However, far less attention has been given to time itself as a research lens for scholars to consider. This article seeks to integrate time as a construct of theoretical importance into a discussion of longitudinal design, data, and public management research. First, I discuss the relative advantages of longitudinal design and data, but also the challenges, limitations, and issues researchers need to consider. Second, I consider the importance of time as a theoretical construct of interest in the pursuit of longitudinal public management research. Third, I offer a brief look at the use of longitudinal design and panel data analyses in the current public management literature. The overview demonstrates a notable absence of public management research considering the attitudes, motives, perceptions, and experiences of individual public employees and managers. Finally, I consider why there are so few longitudinal studies of public employees and point out the issues public management researchers interested in individual employee-level phenomena need to consider when advancing their own longitudinal research designs.

Going Green in Public Organizations Linking Organizational Commitment and Public Service Motives to Public Employees’ Workplace Eco-Initiatives

Public servants are expected to be good stewards of resources, including the energy and environmental resources consumed in a public organization’s day-to-day operations. Many government organizations have enacted policies to mitigate the environmental impact of their operations. Even in the absence of formal policies, however, individual public employees might engage in a number of discretionary, pro-environmental behaviors known as eco-initiatives. What motivational factors cause a public employee to exhibit eco-initiative? To answer this question, we draw on a theoretical framework based on connectedness to nature, organizational commitment, public service motivation (PSM), and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). We use employee-level data from a large city in the southeast United States to examine employee participation in individual eco-initiatives. We contextualize these discretionary initiatives as interesting forms of OCB, which are directed toward the environment (OCB-E). Our findings suggest that connectedness to nature, organizational commitment, and PSM are significant predictors of eco-initiative in the public workplace. In addition, we find that PSM conditions the impact of organizational commitment on eco-initiatives for certain types of employees. We conclude with a discussion that underscores the importance of individual employee motivation in discretionary efforts that advance OCB-E and effective public stewardship generally.

Raising the next generation of public servants? Parental influence on volunteering behavior and public service career aspirations

Purpose - While there is a large body of literature examining the effect public service motivation (PSM) has on both an individual’s career and volunteering decisions, the effects of social learning and parental influences on both volunteerism and selection into public service are relatively unexplored. This study examines the relationship between parental volunteering and career choice, PSM, and the volunteering behaviors and career choices of their adult children. Design/methodology/approach - We examine data collected from first-year undergraduate students at a large, public university in the southeastern United States to examine, the impact of parents in the development of public service behaviors like volunteering and career choice. Findings - We find that parental influence matters in shaping voluntary behavior and career aspirations, but that this social learning is distinct by gender. Originality/value - We are unaware of work that directly focuses on parents’ volunteering and career choices, after controlling for PSM, on both the volunteering and public service career decisions of their children.

Internal Management and Perceived Managerial Trustworthiness Evidence From a Survey Experiment

What is the effect of internal public management on individuals’ perceptions of managerial trustworthiness (MTW)? MTW is associated with a range of positive organizational outcomes, but research examining how a public manager might affect employees’ perception of MTW is sparse. This article complements extant research on MTW in public organizations with causal evidence from a randomized survey experiment among 1,829 U.S. residents. We examine how five aspects of internal public management affect individuals’ perception of MTW: (a) setting challenging but feasible goals, (b) making credible commitments, (c) encouraging employee participation, (d) providing frequent performance feedback, and (e) rewarding employees who perform well. We find positive effects of the “credible commitment” and “performance feedback” treatments on overall MTW perception. In addition, we find significant effects for four of the treatments (a-d) when looking separately at the three sub-dimensions that together comprise the multidimensional MTW construct (ability, benevolence, and integrity).

Eco-Helping and Eco-Civic Engagement in the Public Workplace

ABSTRACT Despite growing interest in the environmental performance and management of public organizations, relatively little is known about the steps individual public employees are taking at their own discretion to promote environmental sustainability and environmental stewardship in the workplace. This article examines public employees’ participation in eco-helping and eco-civic engagement in the workplace. Eco-helping occurs when employees encourage colleagues to perform pro-environmental behaviors in the workplace; eco-civic engagement refers to employees’ voluntary participation in the organization’s pro-environmental activities. The research objective is to identify motivational and attitudinal correlates of eco-helping and eco-civic engagement in the public workplace. Findings suggest that environmental concern and public service motivation (PSM) have positive relationships with both eco-helping and eco-civic engagement in the public workplace. Organizational commitment, however, is only positively associated with eco-civic engagement. The possible meaning of these findings for future research is discussed.

Family-Friendly Policies, Gender, and Work–Life Balance in the Public Sector

Family-friendly policies and culture are important components of creating a healthy work environment and are positively related to work outcomes for public employees and organizations. Furthermore, family-friendly policies and culture are critical mechanisms for supporting the careers and advancement of women in public service and enhancing gender equity in public sector employment. While both policies and culture can facilitate women’s participation in the public sector workforce, they may affect men and women differently. Using data from a 2011 study with a nationwide sample of state government employees, we investigate the effects of employee take-up of leave policies, employer supported access to child care, alternative work scheduling, and a culture of family support on work–life balance (WLB). We examine where these variables differ in their effects on WLB among men and women and make specific recommendations to further WLB among women. The results inform the literature on family-friendly policies and culture in public organizations.

The Role of Employees’ Public Service Motives and Organizational Commitment in Workplace Giving Campaigns

Workplace giving campaigns, like the Combined Federal Campaign, have increased in participation and prominence in recent years. Organizations across all sectors of society frequently encourage employees to voluntarily donate either directly or through payroll deduction. In the nascent research on workplace giving, there has been relatively little focus on how employee attributes, especially motivational and organizational commitment traits, might be related to voluntary participation in workplace giving campaigns. In our article, we explore the role of these factors in an employee’s decision to participate in workplace giving campaigns. Using data from a large, public university, we examine two distinct aspects of participation: (a) the decision to participate in a workplace giving campaign and (b) how much those who participated chose to give. Our analyses demonstrate that these decisions reflect two motivational processes that must be considered in examining the determinants of individual workplace giving behavior. Answering these questions will help deepen our understanding of employee workplace giving in its increasing prominence as a tool of social partnership.

Environmental Purchasing in the City of Phoenix

US local governments purchase US

Five Reasons Why Green Technology Firms Should Care About Sustainable Public Purchasing

1.72 trillion of goods and services annually that contribute to global climate change and other environmental problems. Cities that successfully implement environmental purchasing policies can mitigate these environmental concerns while saving money and demonstrating their environmental leadership. However, cities confront numerous challenges when implementing an environmental purchasing policy. This chapter identifies the facilitators and barriers of implementing an environmental purchasing policy. It draws on the experiences within the City of Phoenix as an example and offers eight recommendations for how the City of Phoenix and similar cities can integrate environmental purchasing more fully into their existing purchasing processes.