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Performance Management and Incentive Systems in Research Organizations: Effects, Limits and Opportunities

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Abstract

This chapter gives an overview on the effects, limits and opportunities of the different performance management and incentive systems employed in research organizations. Specifically, we discuss the existing performance management and incentive systems in research organizations as well as their advantages and disadvantages, and provide theoretically—as well as empirically—grounded recommendations for performance management and incentive systems in research organizations. In particular, we provide two recommendations. First, we advocate focusing on input governance as well as on trust in the intrinsic motivation of scholars, and independence as ways to ensure quality. Second, with regard to incentive systems, we recommend emphasizing informal-interpersonal acknowledgment.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The term “research organization” predominantly refers to higher education institutions such as universities in the following.

  2. 2.

    The law of effect states that a positive or pleasant outcome of a behavior leads to an increasing frequency of displaying this specific behavior.

  3. 3.

    It is not further explained in Kieser (2010) how exceptional performance at the University of Konstanz is defined and how it is evaluated.

  4. 4.

    However, this effect was not robust when using research performance rather than academic performance as the criterion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany

    Stefanie Ringelhan (Chair for Strategy and Organization), Jutta Wollersheim (Chair for Strategy and Organization) & Isabell M. Welpe (Chair for Strategy and Organization)

Authors
  1. Stefanie Ringelhan
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  2. Jutta Wollersheim
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  3. Isabell M. Welpe
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stefanie Ringelhan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. TUM School of Management, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany

    Isabell M. Welpe

  2. TUM School of Management, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany

    Jutta Wollersheim

  3. TUM School of Management, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany

    Stefanie Ringelhan

  4. Zeppelin University, Friedrichshafen, Germany, and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Margit Osterloh

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Ringelhan, S., Wollersheim, J., Welpe, I.M. (2015). Performance Management and Incentive Systems in Research Organizations: Effects, Limits and Opportunities. In: Welpe, I., Wollersheim, J., Ringelhan, S., Osterloh, M. (eds) Incentives and Performance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09785-5_6

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