Social distancing is an effective means of containing the spread of COVID‐19, but only if we all participate. Who are the individuals who are least likely to adhere to social distancing recommendations, presently and in the long term? Such knowledge is important for policy makers looking to sustain the public's buy‐in to social distancing. Using survey data from a sample of U.S. residents (n = 1,449), the authors show that some demographic factors (gender, age, race, political party) help predict intent to adhere to social distancing. Yet demographic factors are relatively poor predictors compared with individual attitudes and media diets. Public officials should make efforts to inform and persuade the public of the importance of social distancing, targeting media such as television and radio, where audiences are less likely to currently engage in social distancing or are less likely to envision themselves sustaining strict social distancing for several weeks or months.

Other social science fields are increasingly conducting research using Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk)-an online crowdsourcing platform-but how might MTurk be useful to public administration and management research? This article provides an introduction of the platform and considers both the opportunities and limitations for using MTurk in public administration and management scholarship. We find that MTurk might be relevant for examining particular types of research questions. We identify five areas where MTurk data may complement and enhance public administration and management research: (1) exploratory analyses and survey construction; (2) measurement refinement of latent constructs; (3) survey experiments; (4) longitudinal research and data collection; and (5) collection of data from citizens. The article emphasizes how a key requisite conditions both the applicability of MTurk data and the validity of MTurk-based findings: The researcher must understand the boundaries and potential of the platform since the issues related to representativeness, participation, and data quality are nontrivial.

in Copenhagen, Denmark. His research focuses on work motivation, human resource management, organizational behavior, and methods for causal inference. and how organizational features may promote employee PSM by organizational socialization and adaptation processes (Cable and Parsons 2001;Moynihan and Pandey 2007). Other scholars suggest the use of organizational attraction and selection policies when looking to recruit a high-PSM workforce (Leisink and Steijn 2008).Research on how to capitalize on the positive eff ects of PSM has thus focused primarily on PSM cultivation (how to foster and sustain high PSM). In contrast, this article examines the eff ect of PSM activation (how to actively engage an individual's present level of PSM). Although they are related constructs, PSM cultivation and PSM activation refer to distinct motivational processes and therefore should be studied separately. Whereas PSM cultivation relates to the socialization of public service values and norms, PSM activation is more about the external Abstract: Employees with higher public service motivation (PSM) are likely to perform better in public service jobs. However, research on how practitioners may capitalize on this knowledge is sparse. Th is article expands the understanding of how to activate employee PSM, which is understood as a human resource that is present in the work environment. Using a randomized survey experiment with 528 law students, this article shows how low-intensity treatments may activate PSM and how the eff ect of PSM activation eff orts compares with eff orts to activate another, less self-determined type of motivation (relating to the need for feelings of self-importance). Th e fi ndings are robust and suggest that low-intensity eff orts to activate PSM have a positive eff ect on an individual's behavioral inclinations. However, eff orts toward the activation of motivation relating to feelings of self-importance appear to engender an eff ect of similar size. Practitioner Points• Using a survey experimental design, this research shows how simple external interventions may engage individuals' public service motivation (i.e., motives that are largely altruistic and grounded in public institutions) and thereby increase the time and eff ort they are willing to spend on a task. • Th is fi nding suggests that employee PSM is an organizational resource that can be actively engaged through relatively low-cost managerial eff orts. • Managers may capitalize on other forms of employee motivation as well: this research fi nds that external interventions targeting individuals' feelings of self-importance may result in positive outcomes similar to those of external PSM interventions.

Many public welfare programs give public employees discretionary authority to dispense sanctions when clients do not follow or comply with the policies and procedures required for receiving welfare benefits. Yet research also shows that public employees' use of discretion in decision making that affects clients can occasionally be marked by racial biases and disparities. Drawing on the Racial Classification Model (RCM) for a theoretical model, this article examines how client ethnicity shapes public employees' decisions to sanction clients. Using Danish employment agencies as our empirical setting, we present findings from two complementary studies. Study 1 uses nationwide administrative data. Examining sanctioning activity at the employment agency-level, we find that agencies with a larger percentage of clients being non-Western immigrants or their descendants impose a greater overall number of sanctions and dispense them with greater frequency. Study 2 uses survey experimental data to build on this finding. Addressing concerns about internal validity and a need for analyses at the individual employee-level, we present survey experimental evidence that employment agency caseworkers are more likely to recommend sanctions for ethnic minority (Middle-Eastern origin) clients than for ethnic majority (Danish origin) clients. Moreover, we investigate how three caseworker characteristics-ethnicity, gender, and work experience-condition the relationship between client ethnicity and caseworkers' decisions to sanction clients. While we find no moderation effects for ethnicity or gender, work experience appears to diminish the influence of client

Despite extensive public service motivation (PSM) research, our knowledge of PSM's influence on individuals' sector employment preferences is limited. Few studies examine this relationship by suitable research designs, and the empirical findings are mixed. Using a sample of 718 Danish students of economics, political science, and law, this article tests (1) the relationship between PSM and attraction to public versus private sector employment and (2) the moderating effect on this relationship of students' academic field of study. Overall, results underscore the multidimensionality of the PSM construct, as the PSM dimension of ''public interest'' is positively associated with attraction to public sector employment and negatively associated with attraction to private sector employment, while the PSM dimension of ''compassion'' is unrelated to both. Importantly, however, moderation analyses reveal notable correlation differences across students' academic fields. Implications of these findings are discussed in the context of prior and future research.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major challenge facing societies around the world. Citizen engagement in “social distancing” is a key containment measure for curtailing the spread of the virus. But what kind of information should governments use for encouraging social distancing compliance? Using data from a pre-registered survey experiment among US residents (n = 1,502), we examine how five distinct COVID-19 information cues—which each appeal to prosocial motivation and empathy in varying degree—affect people’s willingness to social distance. We find no significant differences across experimental conditions in terms of (a) the duration that respondents are willing to maintain social distancing, (b) intended social distancing behavior, or (c) COVID-19-related attitudes and beliefs. Our findings should not necessarily discourage decision-makers from priming prosocial motivation and empathy as means for promoting social distancing, but they do suggest a current need for more engaging medium than simple textual messages for such appeals.

Replication studies relate to the scientific principle of replicability and serve the significant purpose of providing supporting (or contradicting) evidence regarding the existence of a phenomenon. However, replication has never been an integral part of public administration and management research. Recently, scholars have called for more replication, but academic reflections on when replication adds substantive value to public administration and management research are needed. This article presents the RNICE conceptual model, for assessing when and how a replication study contributes knowledge about a social phenomenon and advances knowledge in the public administration and management literatures. The RNICE model provides a vehicle for researchers who seek to evaluate or demonstrate the value of a replication study systematically. The practical application of the model is illustrated using two published replication studies. Evidence for Practice• Replication is the process of repeating previous research efforts with the aim of confirming or extending previous findings and serves the important purpose of providing supporting (or contradicting) evidence regarding the existence of a phenomenon. • Academic reflections on when and how replication adds substantive value to public administration and management research remain implicit and sparse. • This article presents the RNICE conceptual model to guide both scholars (producers of information) and public administration professionals (consumers of information) when evaluating the contributions of replication studies.

Identifying ways to efficiently maximize the response rate to surveys is important in surveybased research. However, evidence on the response rate effect of donation incentives and especially altruistic and egotistic text appeal interventions is sparse and ambiguous. Via a randomized survey experiment among 6,162 members of an online survey panel, this article shows how low-cost incentives and cost-free text appeal interventions may affect the survey response rate in online panels. The experimental treatments comprise (a) a cash prize lottery incentive, (b) two donation incentives that promise a monetary donation to a good cause in return for survey response, (c) an egotistic text appeal, and (d) an altruistic text appeal.Relative to a control group, we find higher response rates among recipients of the egotistic text appeal and the lottery incentive. Donation incentives yield lower response rates.