IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/pubmgr/v17y2015i10p1518-1542.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unfulfilled Promise: Laboratory experiments in public management research

Author

Listed:
  • Derrick M. Anderson
  • Barry C. Edwards

Abstract

We make the case for increased laboratory experimentation in public management research. Laboratory experiments can generate useful knowledge, particularly in testing causal relationships among constructs of interest. The challenge in this regard is one of identifying the appropriate role for experiments in a greater knowledge production enterprise. Although laboratory experiments are underutilized, they have proffered important knowledge contributions to the field, especially in areas of decision-making and, increasingly, motivation. Because practical problems may pose a greater obstacle to laboratory experimentation in public management than epistemological issues, we address external validity and the cost of conducting laboratory experiments before concluding with suggestions for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Derrick M. Anderson & Barry C. Edwards, 2015. "Unfulfilled Promise: Laboratory experiments in public management research," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(10), pages 1518-1542, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:pubmgr:v:17:y:2015:i:10:p:1518-1542
    DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2014.943272
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/14719037.2014.943272
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/14719037.2014.943272?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dunleavy, Patrick & Margetts, Helen & Bastow, Simon & Tinkler, Jane, 2008. "Digital Era Governance: IT Corporations, the State, and e-Government," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199547005.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gutierrez Angelica S. & D’Mello Jason Francis, 2020. "Not All Entrepreneurs are Viewed Equally: A Social Dominance Theory Perspective on Access to Capital," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, January.
    2. Amanda Rutherford & Thomas Rabovsky & Megan Darnley, 2021. "Compared to whom? Social and historical reference points and performance appraisals by managers, students, and the general public," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 4(1).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Roel Heijlen & Joep Crompvoets & Geert Bouckaert & Maxim Chantillon, 2018. "Evolving Government Information Processes for Service Delivery: Identifying Types & Impact," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-14, May.
    2. Ali M. Al-Khouri, 2013. "Connected Government: An Exploration of the UAE's Identity Management Integration Strategy," Business and Management Horizons, Macrothink Institute, vol. 1(1), pages 74-95, June.
    3. Martin Warland & Heike Mayer, 2017. "Peculiarities of public sector clients in service innovations," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 105-124, January.
    4. Ben D. MacArthur & Cosmina L. Dorobantu & Helen Z. Margetts, 2022. "Resilient government requires data science reform," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(8), pages 1035-1037, August.
    5. Patrick Dunleavy, 2010. "New Worlds in Political Science," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 58(2), pages 239-265, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:pubmgr:v:17:y:2015:i:10:p:1518-1542. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RPXM20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.