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Current Developments at Higher Education Institutions and Interview-Based Recommendations to Foster Work Motivation and Work Performance

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Book cover Multi-Level Governance in Universities

Part of the book series: Higher Education Dynamics ((HEDY,volume 47))

Abstract

Providing empirically-based recommendations on how to improve scholars’ individual work motivation and work performance is important, for example, to foster the research output of higher education institutions and, thus, to strengthen innovation-based economies that heavily rely on the generation of scientific knowledge. Therefore, we conducted twelve semi-structured interviews with individuals working in different positions of higher education and research institutions to gain deeper insight into current undesired developments in higher education institutions and to provide empirically informed recommendations. Our interview data indicate the following major results: (1) deficient funding is especially often cited by Ph.D. students as the most significant current undesirable development at higher education institutions. (2) At the chair level, good leadership style (e.g., constructive feedback) and interpersonal acknowledgment may motivate and enhance performance, whereas at the faculty level, conducive framework conditions (e.g., the provision of laboratories) and cooperation (e.g., exchange between researchers, chairs, faculties) may increase motivation and performance. Finally, at the institutional level, appropriate organizational structures (e.g., decentralized responsibility and autonomy) and an appropriate leadership culture (e.g., creating trust) may foster motivation and performance.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We included interviewees from research institutions in our sample because they can provide valuable information about the current developments and factors that influence scientific working just as interviewees from higher education institutions. Thus, including them in the sample enriches our sample and provides a broader overview of the current situation for all individuals working in the area of science and what could be done to improve working conditions.

  2. 2.

    Note that the self-employed interviewee worked for a higher education or research institution for many years before leaving to work for themselves.

  3. 3.

    All interview quotes were translated from German to English.

  4. 4.

    The sample size encompasses only one person for this question and position because the other two interviewees with other positions stated that this question does not apply to them; they were thus excluded from this analysis.

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Acknowledgments

We conducted the interviews, transcription and initial analyses as part of the research project “Pay Professors for Performance?! Entwicklung eines neuen Anreizsystems für Forschende und Lehrende an Hochschulen” (grant number 01PW11006) and continued our analyses and compilation of this work as part of the research project “The Many Faces of Academic Success: Leistung und Anreize in Forschung und Lehre (FAceS)” (grant number 01PY13012). We thank the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research for funding this research project. Additionally, we would like to thank our interview partners for their time and support of this study. Furthermore, we thank our student assistant Stefan Körner who supported us in coding the interview data. Parts of the project were completed while Jutta Stumpf-Wollersheim was working at the Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Strategy and Organization, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany

    Stefanie Ringelhan, Jutta Stumpf-Wollersheim & Isabell M. Welpe

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  1. Stefanie Ringelhan
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Correspondence to Stefanie Ringelhan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Organization and Management, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Jetta Frost

  2. Organization and Management, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Fabian Hattke

  3. Strategic Management, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany

    Markus Reihlen

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Ringelhan, S., Stumpf-Wollersheim, J., Welpe, I.M. (2016). Current Developments at Higher Education Institutions and Interview-Based Recommendations to Foster Work Motivation and Work Performance. In: Frost, J., Hattke, F., Reihlen, M. (eds) Multi-Level Governance in Universities. Higher Education Dynamics, vol 47. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32678-8_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32678-8_9

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