Corresponding Chair:
Wouter Vandenabeele, w.v.vandenabeele@uu.nl
Description:
Public service motivation refers to an individual’s desire improve the well-being of society. This motives is not the exclusive province of government employees; rather, it is exhibited by many other individuals who may perform meaningful public service during their lifetimes. The spread of public-regarding motives is thus very important in an era of burgeoning demands on government, questions about its capacity to meet those demands, and blurring the boundaries between public service and private interest. This concern inevitably ties back to the motivation and behavior of individuals operating in the public square.
Despite the recent surge of research on public service motivation, many questions remain unanswered. Therefore, we invite papers for two types of activities.
First, regular research papers are invited. We seek for papers that comport with the general theme of public service motivation and motivation in the public sector in its broadest sense (e.g. HRM aimed at enhancing motivation; various types of motivation related to the public interest and public service). Papers could focus on many related issues within this broad theme and the paper will be presented through a regular presentation and be subject to discussion afterwards.
A second type of papers concerns research proposals. We will devote one or more sessions to the peer-review of research proposal be it before or after submission to funding agencies. This will enable authors to increase quality of the proposals and subsequent research, thereby possibly the probability of success. Papers in this strand should at least entail a research question, a theoretical framework and an elaborate research plan.
If possible, we aim to publish a special issue in an academic journal based upon the research papers presented (just as we have done previously – in the International Journal of Public Administration (2012), Public Administration (2014) and International Public Management Journal (forthcoming).