The use of innovation awards in the public sector - Innovation: Management, Policy & Practice

home > archives > 13/2 > The use of innovation awards in the publ

The use of innovation awards in the public sector: Individual and organizational perspectives

Michael Rosenblatt
School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University, Ottawa ON, Canada

PP: 207 - 219

Abstract

This paper examines innovation awards in the public sector from both the perspective of the individual and the organization. Using the individual perspective, we look at two types of motivations (intrinsic and extrinsic) and their link to innovation. We agree with the literature which suggests that intrinsic motivations are positively related to innovation.

We also examine the relationship between extrinsic motivations and innovation, finding mixed evidence of a positive relationship, and little evidence that extrinsic motivation is negatively related to innovation. From the organizational perspective, we identify differences between the public and private sectors in providing incentives to innovate. We examine the use of innovation awards as an incentive to innovate, finding both positive and negative consequences.

Keywords

innovation; public sector; awards; motivation; incentives; heroes

View references

References

Ahlstrom, D. (2010) Innovation and growth: How business contributes to society, The Academy of Management Perspectives 24(3): 11-24.

Albury, D. (2005) Fostering innovation in public services, Public Money and Management 25: 51-56.

Amabile, T. (1997) Motivating creativity in organizations: On doing what you love and loving what you do, California Management Review 40(1): 39-58.

Amabile, T., Hill, K., Hennessey, B. and Tighe, E. (1994) The work preference inventory: Assessing intrinsic, extrinsic motivational orientations, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 66(5): 950-967.

Amabile, T. and Kramer, S. (2007) Inner work life, Harvard Business Review 85(5): 72-83.

Andriopoulos, C. and Dawson, P. (2009) Managing change, creativity and innovation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Barnard, C. (1938) The functions of the executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Behn, R. (1995) The big questions of public management, Public Administration Review 55(4): 313-324.

Belcourt, M. and Taggar, S. (2002) Making government the best place to work: Building commitment. Toronto: Institute of Public Administration of Canada.

Borins, S. (2000) Loose cannons and rule breakers, or enterprising leaders? Some evidence about innovative public managers, Public Administration Review 60(6): 498-507.

Borins, S. (2001) Encouraging innovation in the public sector, Journal of Intellectual Capital 2(3): 310-319.

Borins, S. (2002) Leadership and innovation in the public sector, Leadership and Organization Development Journal (23)8: 467-476.

Brand, A. (1998) Knowledge management and innovation at 3M, Journal of Knowledge Management 2(1): 17-22.

Brewer, G., Coleman, S. and Facer, R. (2000) Individual conceptions of public service motivation, Public Administration Review 60(3): 254-264.

Buker, P. (2003) Always better continuously innovative public sector organizations in Canada. Toronto: Institute of Public Administration of Canada.

Chen, C., Ford, C. and Farris, G. (1999) Do rewards benefit the organization? The effects of reward types and the perceptions of diverse R&D professionals, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 46(1): 47-55.

Clegg, B. (1999) Creativity and innovation for managers. Boston: The Institute of Management.

Cotton, J. (1993) Employee involvement methods for improving performance and work attitudes. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Crewson, P. (1997) Public-service motivation: Building empirical evidence of incidence and effect, Journal of Public Administration and Research 7(4): 499-518.

Davenport, T., Prusak, L. and Wilson, J. (2003) Who's bringing you hot ideas and how are you responding, Harvard Business Review 81(2): 58-64.

Deci, E. (1971) Effects of externally motivated rewards on intrinsic motivation, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 18: 105-115.

Deci, E. (1972) The effects of contingent and non-contingent rewards and controls on intrinsic motivation, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 8(2): 217-229.

Eisenberger, R. and Armeli, S. (1997) Can salient reward increase creative performance without reducing intrinsic creative interest? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 72(3): 652-663.

Eisenberger, R. and Cameron, J. (1996) Detrimental effects of reward, American Psychologist 51(11): 1153-1166.

Fagerberg, J. (2005) Innovation: A guide to the literature. In J. Fagerberg, D. C. Mowery and R. R. Nelson (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Fischer, W., Hamilton, W., McLaughlin, C. and Zmud, R. (1986) The elusive product champion, Research Management 29(3): 13-16.

Frost, P. and Egri, C. (1991) The Political process of innovation, Research in Organizational Behaviour 13: 229-296.

Galbraith, J. (1982) Designing the innovating organization, Organizational Dynamics 10(3): 5-25.

Glor, E. (2001) Key factors influencing innovation in government, The Innovation Journal 6(2): 1-20.

Government of Canada (1999, 2002, 2005 and 2008) Public Service Employees Survey. Retrieved from http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pses-saff/2008/index-eng.asp

Hondeghem, A. and Perry, J. (2009) EGPA symposium on public service motivation and performance: Introduction, International Review of Administrative Sciences 75(1): 5-9.

Houston, D. (2000) Public service motivation: A multivariate test, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 10(4): 713-728.

James, W. (2002) Best HR practices for today's innovation management, Research Technology Management 45(1): 57-61.

Khojasteh, M. (1993) Motivating the private vs. public sector managers, Public Personnel Management 22(3): 391-401.

Kohn, A. (1993) Why incentive plans cannot work, Harvard Business Review 17: 54-63.

Kruglanski, A., Friedman, I. and Zeevi, G. (1971) The effects of extrinsic incentive on some qualitative aspects of task performance, Journal of Personality 39(4): 606-617.

Kuczmarski, T. (1996) Innovation leadership strategies for the competitive edge. Chicago: NTC Business Books.

Lachman, R. (1985) Public and private sector differences: CEO's perceptions of their role environments, Academy of Management Journal 28(3): 671-680.

Lawler, E. and Hall, D. (1970) Relationship of job characteristics to job involvement, satisfaction, and intrinsic motivation, Journal of Applied Psychology 54(4): 305-312.

Lawson, B. and Samson, D. (2001) Developing innovation capability in organizations: A dynamic capabilities approach, International Journal of Innovation Management 5(3): 377-400.

Lazonick, W. (2005) The innovative firm. In J. Fagerberg, D. C. Mowery, R. R. Nelson. The Oxford handbook of innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Leisink, P. and Bram, S. (2008) Recruitment, attraction and selection. In J. Perry and A. Hondeghem (Eds.), Motivation in public management: The call of public service. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lewis, G. and Frank, S. A. (2002) Who wants to work for government? Public Administration Review 62(4): 395-404.

Murdock, K. (2002) Intrinsic motivation and optimal incentive contracts, RAND Journal of Economics 33(4): 650-671.

Nicholson, G. (1998) Keeping innovation alive, Research Technology Management 14(3): 34-40.

Perry, J. and Hondeghem, A. (2008) Motivation in Public Management: The Call of Public Service. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Perry, J., Hondeghem, A. and Wise, L. (2010) Revisiting the motivational bases of public service: Twenty years of research and an agenda for the future, Public Administration Review 70: 681-690.

Perry, J. and Porter, L. (1982) Factors affecting the context for motivation in public organizations, Academy of Management Review 7(1): 89-98.

Perry, J. and Wise, L. (1990) The motivational basis of public service, Public Administration Review 50: 367-373.

Potts, J. (2009) The innovation deficit in public services: The curious problem of too much efficiency and not enough waste and failure, Innovation: Management, Policy and Practice 11(1): 34-43.

Potts, J. and Kastelle, T. (2010) Public Sector innovation research: What's next? Innovation: Management, Policy and Practice 12(2): 122-134.

Rainey, H. and Chun, Y. (2007) Public and private management compared. In E. Ferlie, L. E. Lynn and C. Pollitt (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of public management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rainey, H. and Steinbauer, P. (1999) Galloping elephants: Developing elements of a theory of effective government organizations, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 9(1): 1-32.

Rosenblatt, M. (2004) Innovation in three government labs: Individual and institutional factors. PhD dissertation, Carleton University, Ottawa.

Ryan, R. and Deci, E. (2000) Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions, Contemporary Educational Psychology 25(1): 54-67.

Stephan, P. (1996) The economics of science, Journal of Economic Literature 34(4): 1199-1235.

Thompson, V. (1968) Bureaucracy and innovation. Urbana, IL: University of Chicago.

Tushman, M. and Nadler, D. (1986) Organizing for innovation, California Management Review 28(3): 74-92.

Sauermann, H. and Cohen, W. (2008) What makes them tick? Employee motives and firm innovation. Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research.

Shalley, C. and Gilson, L. (2004) What leaders need to know: A review of social and contextual factors that can foster or hinder creativity, The Leadership Quarterly 15(1): 33-53.

Storey, J. (2000) The management of innovation problem, International Journal of Innovation Management 4(3): 347-369.

Wilkins, A., Perry, T. and Checketts, A. (1990) Please don't make me a hero: A re-examination of corporate heroes, Human Resource Management 29(3): 327-341.

Wright, B. (2001) Public Sector work motivation: A review of the current literature and a revised conceptual model, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 11(4): 559-586.

Navigate: Archives | Contents | Top of page