Academics' attitudes toward engaging in public discussions - experimental evidence on the impact of engagement conditions
Vitus Püttmann, Jens Ruhose, Stephan L. Thomsen
Academics are increasingly expected to engage in public discussions. We study how engagement conditions affect academics' engagement attitudes via a survey experiment among 4,091 tenured professors in Germany. Consistent with the crowding-out of intrinsic motivation, we find less-positive attitudes when emphasizing public authorities' demands and public expectations regarding science's societal relevance. Effects are particularly strong among professors endorsing science-society relations. Moreover, effects are similar when highlighting risks associated with engagement, but more pronounced for females, and absent when emphasizing public support for academics' engagement. We conclude that considering individual incentive structures and safeguarding against repercussions may promote academics' engagement.
Year of publication: |
August 2021
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Authors: | Püttmann, Vitus ; Ruhose, Jens ; Thomsen, Stephan L. |
Publisher: |
Bonn, Germany : IZA - Institute of Labor Economics |
Subject: | science communication | public engagement | professor | survey experiment | intrinsic motivation | Leistungsmotivation | Work motivation | Experiment | Motivation | Bibliometrie | Bibliometrics | Interne Kommunikation | Internal communication |
Saved in:
freely available
Extent: | 1 Online-Ressource (circa 50 Seiten) Illustrationen |
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Series: | Discussion paper series / IZA. - Bonn : IZA, ZDB-ID 2120053-1. - Vol. no. 14668 |
Type of publication: | Book / Working Paper |
Type of publication (narrower categories): | Graue Literatur ; Non-commercial literature ; Arbeitspapier ; Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Other identifiers: | hdl:10419/245719 [Handle] |
Classification: | I23 - Higher Education Research Institutions ; O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes |
Source: | ECONIS - Online Catalogue of the ZBW |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012607610