BU Research Blog

Dr. Fabian Homberg and two of BU’s HR&OB PhD students presented their latest research findings at the workshop on “Behavioural Foundations of Public Service Motivation – Exchanging and Aligning Human Resource, Organizational Behaviour and Public Administration Perspectives” at Friedrichshafen, Germany. Organized by Dr. Homberg and Prof. Rick Vogel, Zeppelin University (ZU), and co-funded by Zeppelin University and German Research Foundation (DFG), the workshop attracted top researchers in the field of public service motivation (PSM) from Europe, Asia and the Americas (details here: https://www.zu.de/lehrstuehle/pmpp/psm-workshop-2014.php).

“We enjoyed one and a half days of inspiring, high quality research and in-depth discussions on various aspects of public service motivation,” Homberg said. “Events like this one are crucial for bridging disciplines, advancing theory and help all participants to develop networks and research projects in a friendly, international and collegiate environment.”

Workshop presentations highlighted the different manners in which PSM can be utilised across sectors and in various contexts. Bournemouth PhD student, Jordan Vincent, presented the finding of her experimental research which involves public service motivation, rewards and incentives.

“Having an opportunity to discuss my research with the top researchers in my field and receiving such targeted feedback has proved invaluable in helping me further develop my work,” said Vincent. “Such workshops are a fantastic place to network with real giants in the field and the informal discussions over dinner have been as interesting and important in helping shape my work and my future direction as formal feedback has been.”

Some presentations highlighted how corruption in public administration could be predicted by PSM levels. Other researchers explored the impact PSM could have on the workforces’ job performance or job satisfaction.

“The workshop was the first of its kind to bring together scholars in the fields of HRM, OB and PSM,” explained Dr. Julian Gould-Williams, Keynote speaker from Cardiff University. “It provided a forum to discuss theoretical issues and challenges facing researchers wishing to advance academic scholarship. Of particular note was the supportive environment in which young and more established researchers interacted with each other, thereby optimising collaborative responses to emerging issues.”

Homberg added “We are grateful for the support we received from ZU and DFG, but I also need to thank BU for funding a similar, but much smaller event at the EBC in 2013 which triggered the efforts for the 2014 workshop on “Behavioural Foundations of Public Service Motivation – Exchanging and Aligning Human Resource, Organizational Behaviour and Public Administration Perspectives.”

Some of the research presented at the workshop will – if surviving the peer-review process – be published in a special issue in the International Journal of Manpower. The call for papers can be found here and is open to everyone working on HRM and PSM: (https://www.zu.de/lehrstuehle/pmpp/assets/pdf/CfP_IJM_HRM_PSM.pdf).