Robert Christensen - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Robert Christensen

E-mail: wise.983@osu.edu Federalism jurisprudence shapes the powers that public administrators ha... more E-mail: wise.983@osu.edu Federalism jurisprudence shapes the powers that public administrators have to achieve policy priorities. Federalism, however, is neither static nor simplistic as a concept, and a proper understanding of the environment in which public administrators work rests on a careful analysis of U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Th e authors review claims that a 2005 decision, Gonzales v. Raich, terminated a federalism revolution that had been ushered in a decade earlier. Does Raich in fact mark the end of the Supreme Court’s federalism doctrine? Analysis of this question clarifi es whether the past and current Court has articulated any direction touching on administrators’ powers at both the national and state levels. Th e authors argue that before the federalism revolution is declared dead or alive, public administration can better understand the realities of the Supreme Court’s doctrinal boundaries by examining a more detailed analysis of jurisprudence for what is says ...

Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2021

Despite public administration’s growing interest in personnel diversity and ethical leadership, l... more Despite public administration’s growing interest in personnel diversity and ethical leadership, little is known about the effectiveness of ethical leadership in managing diverse public workforces. Can ethical leadership moderate the relationships between demographic diversity and key organizational outcomes? To answer, we synthesize four theories about demographic diversity, ethical leadership, and inclusion: social categorization theory, social exchange theory, social learning theory, and optimal distinctiveness theory. These theories illuminate the interrelationships between diversity, ethical leadership, and two types of collective organizational outcomes: affective commitment climate and race-based employment discrimination. Using panel data from the US federal government, feasible generalized least squares models indicate that racial diversity is negatively related to affective commitment climate and positively related to race-based employment discrimination. The results also s...

Nonprofit Policy Forum, 2019

Nonprofit organizations have the potential to influence public health by filling voids not filled... more Nonprofit organizations have the potential to influence public health by filling voids not filled by government or private organizations. Here we investigate whether the presence of health-related nonprofit organizations at the local community level helps to improve community-level obesity. This study used a time-series design using a random effects model to determine whether the entrance or exits of health nonprofits at the county level was associated with lower obesity rates in the US one and two years following the entrance or departures of nonprofits. The effect was small but significant in urban areas, with a smaller effect in rural areas. Our findings suggest that the presence of health nonprofits is associated with positive health outcomes, in this case obesity. The plausibility may be explained through the increased role nonprofits play in fostering social capital and increased promotion of health-related issues.

International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 2018

Workplace giving is a widely used philanthropic tool. While it has great unmet potential it is al... more Workplace giving is a widely used philanthropic tool. While it has great unmet potential it is also facing a number of challenges, including competition from informal crowdfunding campaigns. In the face of such challenges, we take stock of the extant research to better understand the value and future of workplace giving, including more firmly understanding employee actions and preferences. Workplace giving studies can augment knowledge about contextual giving or bounded settings for exploring basic philanthropic questions (e.g., donor control or gift elasticity). We use a three-part conceptual framework to synthesize and discuss research on individual workplace giving in the context of broader giving behaviors. We address what researchers know, do not know, and need to know on the topic of workplace giving.

Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 2017

This study extends a line of research focused on motivational factors that contribute to first-ye... more This study extends a line of research focused on motivational factors that contribute to first-year students' reasons for engaging in service-learning. Among first-year students, altruistically-motivated students (Christensen, Stritch, Kellough, & Brewer, 2015) and minority students (Pearl & Christensen, 2016) were not only more knowledgeable of service-learning upon entering college but they were also more interested in enrolling in service-learning. The present study employs the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) (Clary et al., 1998) to explore the extent to which student traits are correlated with various motivations to enroll in service-learning courses. We examine student responses to the VFI survey instrument using multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA). Our findings establish a foundation that better accounts for students' "inputs" in order to better understand various service-learning outcomes. We discuss the implications of our findings as they relate to higher education administrators and instructors in order to close the gap between service-learning interest and enrollment, and to provide students with service-learning experiences that satisfy their motivations and help them achieve their goals.

Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 2017

Many United States employees are regularly asked to give charitable donations through work. The t... more Many United States employees are regularly asked to give charitable donations through work. The techniques used to solicit workplace donations vary. Drawing on a nationally representative survey, the study used a sample of donor responses to examine the effectiveness of several widely used campaign strategies-donor choice, company matching, public recognition, and solicitation support. The theoretical framework built on workplace research by Barman (2007) and established charitable giving mechanisms (Bekkers and Wiepking 2011a, 2011b). The research question was, Do workplace campaign strategies lead employees to participate and to make (larger) donations in the workplace? The positive outcomes of the strategies, aside from donor choice, were limited, suggesting that "tried and true" workplace fundraising strategies warrant additional scrutiny. The findings are meaningful to campaign managers seeking to identify approaches that generate workplace giving. For researchers, the results confirm growing attention to the importance of purpose-based giving in comparison with community-based giving.

Social Science Quarterly, 2014

The American Review of Public Administration, 2014

Public servants are expected to be good stewards of resources, including the energy and environme... more Public servants are expected to be good stewards of resources, including the energy and environmental resources consumed in a public organization’s day-to-day operations. Many government organizations have enacted policies to mitigate the environmental impact of their operations. Even in the absence of formal policies, however, individual public employees might engage in a number of discretionary, pro-environmental behaviors known as eco-initiatives. What motivational factors cause a public employee to exhibit eco-initiative? To answer this question, we draw on a theoretical framework based on connectedness to nature, organizational commitment, public service motivation (PSM), and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). We use employee-level data from a large city in the southeast United States to examine employee participation in individual eco-initiatives. We contextualize these discretionary initiatives as interesting forms of OCB, which are directed toward the environment (OC...

Public Administration Review, 2012

His research focuses on the interplay of government and nonprofi t organizations and individual m... more His research focuses on the interplay of government and nonprofi t organizations and individual motivations for giving and volunteering. He is currently exploring how public service motivation can be applied to the nonprofi t sector and giving and volunteering decisions. His research has appeared in Nonprofi t and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Public Administration Review, and American Review of Public Administration.

Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 2005

This paper reports on the second part of a research effort that explores the relationship

Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2011

Although most research focuses on person-organization fit to explain public service motivation (P... more Although most research focuses on person-organization fit to explain public service motivation (PSM)'s influence on job choice, this study investigates the independent effects of both person-organization fit and person-job fit using a policy capturing research design and a sample of first-year law students. Our findings suggest that PSM may play a more important role in person-job fit than person-organization fit. Consistent across three sectors of employment, individuals with stronger PSM were more likely to accept jobs that emphasize service to others-whether that be pro bono work (private sector), client interaction (public sector), or client representation (nonprofit sector). After controlling for characteristics that influence person-job fit, PSM neither increased the likelihood that individuals would accept a public sector job nor decreased the likelihood that they would accept a private sector job. Among other things, our findings suggest that sector may be an inaccurate proxy for values that are often taken for granted in PSM studies. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of a faculty research grant from the University of North Carolina Charlotte that facilitated this study. We are also indebted career services personnel at each of the law schools for their generous assistance. Finally, we gratefully acknowledge valuable comments from anonymous reviewers of this manuscript

International Public Management Journal, 2010

To my chair, Dr. Wise, I owe more than can possibly be recounted here. Without the resources and ... more To my chair, Dr. Wise, I owe more than can possibly be recounted here. Without the resources and expertise that he brought to bear on my behalf, this project would not have been possible. Together with Rosemary O'Leary, it was Charles Wise's passion and scholarship on the courts that indelibly shaped my own scholastic interests-most notably in the present research. He has been, for me, the consummate scholar, teacher and counselor. Thank you. In addition to my dissertation committee, there were many faculty, staff, and students that made my Indiana University doctoral experience not only fruitful but lastingly enjoyable. These include Beth Gazley,

This study extends a line of research focused on motivational factors that contribute to first-ye... more This study extends a line of research focused on motivational factors that contribute to first-year students' reasons for engaging in service-learning. Among first-year students, altruistically-motivated students (Christensen, Stritch, Kellough, & Brewer, 2015) and minority students (Pearl & Christensen, 2016) were not only more knowledgeable of service-learning upon entering college but they were also more interested in enrolling in service-learning. The present study employs the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) (Clary et al., 1998) to explore the extent to which student traits are correlated with various motivations to enroll in service-learning courses. We examine student responses to the VFI survey instrument using multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA). Our findings establish a foundation that better accounts for students' " inputs " in order to better understand various service-learning outcomes. We discuss the implications of our findings as they relate to higher education administrators and instructors in order to close the gap between service-learning interest and enrollment, and to provide students with service-learning experiences that satisfy their motivations and help them achieve their goals.

Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2021

Nonprofit Policy Forum, 2019

International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 2018

Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 2017

Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 2017

Social Science Quarterly, 2014

The American Review of Public Administration, 2014

Public Administration Review, 2012

Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 2005

This paper reports on the second part of a research effort that explores the relationship

Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2011

International Public Management Journal, 2010

This study extends a line of research focused on motivational factors that contribute to first-ye... more This study extends a line of research focused on motivational factors that contribute to first-year students' reasons for engaging in service-learning. Among first-year students, altruistically-motivated students (Christensen, Stritch, Kellough, & Brewer, 2015) and minority students (Pearl & Christensen, 2016) were not only more knowledgeable of service-learning upon entering college but they were also more interested in enrolling in service-learning. The present study employs the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) (Clary et al., 1998) to explore the extent to which student traits are correlated with various motivations to enroll in service-learning courses. We examine student responses to the VFI survey instrument using multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA). Our findings establish a foundation that better accounts for students' " inputs " in order to better understand various service-learning outcomes. We discuss the implications of our findings as they relate to higher education administrators and instructors in order to close the gap between service-learning interest and enrollment, and to provide students with service-learning experiences that satisfy their motivations and help them achieve their goals.