‘Publish and Flourish’ instead of ‘Publish or Perish’: A Motivation Model for Top-quality Publications

Maya Lambovska; Daniela Todorova

doi:10.17323/jle.2021.11522

Maya Lambovska University of National and World Economy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3285-3051
Daniela Todorova Todor Kableshkov University of Transport https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6235-9989

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2021.11522

Keywords: higher education, research management, academic publishing, WoS & Scopus journals, publish-or-perish, motivation, potential, stakeholders

Abstract

Although the ‘publish-or-perish’ principle has spread globally, many authors believe that it is a negative reinforcer (motivator) and harmful. With this paper, we have tried to help overcome the growing pressure of negative reinforcers on researchers. The paper aimed to propose a model for factors influencing researchers to publish in WoS/Scopus journals, based mainly on positive reinforcement and a combination of concepts including theories of control, management, stakeholders, and psychology. The model was intended for Bulgarian universities. It covered 17 motivational drivers and 29 potential features of internal university stakeholders directly involved in the topic. Factor ranking was not incorporated in the model. The research methodology covered the methods of expert evaluation, analysis/synthesis, induction/deduction, and the toolkit consisted of a comprehensive survey and Kendall’s rank concordance coefficient. The model was implemented at a Bulgarian state university. The empirical study was conducted among 120 researchers. It resulted in factor rankings by university internal stakeholders. The highest-ranked motivational driver was reputation, and the lowest-ranked was the publish-or-perish pressure reducing. The highest-ranked potential features were university prestige and potential and support for promotion. We believe that this model contributes to the theory of behaviour control. The model will also improve university research management by enriching its tools.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Maya Lambovska, University of National and World Economy

Professor, DSc., PhD. Department of Management.

Daniela Todorova, Todor Kableshkov University of Transport

Prof., PhD. (Economics), Rector.

References

Alfonso, A. G. (2019). Exogenous factors, implicit theories and linguistic-discursive procedures in scientific writing. Enunciacion, 24(2), 184-198. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14483/22486798.15199

Banks, D. (2018). Thoughts on publishing the research article over the Centuries. Publications, 6(1), Article 10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/publications6010010

Barreto, I. B., Roa, E. R. A., & Velasquez, T. D. M. (2019). Scientific production of teachers in Peruvian Universities: motivations and perceptions. Revista San Gregorio 35, 86-96.

Beavitt, T. A., & Popova, N. G. (2020). The role of the English article system in developing dialogical context: A view from Russian science. Journal of Language and Education, 6(3), 52-68. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2020.10360

Bedeian, A. G., Van Fleet, D. D., & Hyman, H. H. (2009). Scientific achievement and editorial board membership. Organizational Research Methods, 12(2), 211-238. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428107309312

Behl, A., Chavan, M., Dutta, P., & Sheorey, P. A. (2020). Benchmarking publication metrics for Indian business researchers. Exploring the role of collaboration. Benchmarking-an International Journal, 27(2), 571-591. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/bij-04-2019-0184

Binswanger, M. (2015). How nonsense became excellence: Forcing professors to publish. In Incentives and performance: Governance of research organizations (pp. 19-32). Springer International Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09785-5_2

Blaginin, V., Volkova, M., & Strielkowski, W. (2019). Measuring academic leadership using research performance. In W. Strielkowski (Ed.), Sustainable leadership for entrepreneurs and academics, Esal2018 (pp. 355-362). Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15495-0_37

Bourne, L., & Walker, D. H. T. (2005). Visualising and mapping stakeholder influence. Management Decision, 43(5), 649-660. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740510597680

Cizmas, E., Feder, E.-S., Maticiuc, M.-D., & Vlad-Anghel, S. (2020). Team management, diversity, and performance as key influencing factors of organizational sustainable performance. Sustainability, 12(18), 7414. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187414

Daumiller, M., & Dresel, M. (2020). Researchers’ achievement goals: Prevalence, structure, and associations with job burnout/engagement and professional learning. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, Article 101843. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101843

Daumiller, M., Siegel, S., & Dresel, M. (2019). Construction and validation of a short multidisciplinary research performance questionnaire (SMRPQ). Research Evaluation, 28(3), 241–252, 10.1093/reseval/ rvz009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvz009

David, S. T., Kendall, M. G., & Stuart, A. (1951). Some questions of distribution in the theory of rank correlation. Biometrika, 38(1-2), 131-140. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/38.1-2.131

Dornyei, Z. (2009). The L2 motivational self system. In Z. Dornyei, & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 9-42). Multilingual Matters Ltd.

Freeman, R. E. (2015). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139192675

Ghinea, V., Mihaylova, L., & Papazov, E. (2015). Organizational culture dynamics: Complex systems dynamics. Quality - Access to Success, 16(141), 99-105.

Hamner, C., Luthans, F., & Krietner, R. (2015). Operant behavior and organizational behavior modification. In Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership (pp. 114-133). Taylor and Francis.

Hung. B. P., & Baranovskaya, T. A. (2020). Second language teaching and teacher education in diverse contexts. Journal of Language and Education, 6(3), 4-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2020.11455

Johnston, A. (2016). Motivation and the academic - where the drivers sit. Journal of Management Development, 35(6), 765-777. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/jmd-09-2015-0140

Karimi, M. N., & Asadnia, F. (2020). Applied linguistics researchers’ possible selves as motivational resources guiding their research productivity. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 25(2), 214-235. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2020.1742994

Kirova, M. (2010). Effective combination of the performance characteristics of the innovations. In The Proceedings of the 6th International Scientific Conference Business and Management (vol. 1-2, pp. 399-406). VGTU. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/bm.2010.054

Kitchenham, B., Brereton, O. P., Budgen, D., Turner, M., Bailey, J., & Linkman, S. (2009). Systematic literature reviews in software engineering - A systematic literature review. Information and Software Technology, 51(1), 7-15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2008.09.009

Lambovska, M., & Yordanov, K. (2020). Motivation of researchers to publish in high-quality journals: A theoretical framework. TEM Journal, 9(1), 188-197. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18421/tem91-27

Luthans, F., Luthans, B. C., & Luthans, K. W. (Eds.). (2015). Organizational behavior: An evidence-based approach (13th. ed.). Information Age Publishing.

Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41(9), 954-969. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.41.9.954

Miller, A. N., Taylor, S. G., & Bedeian, A. G. (2011). Publish or perish: Academic life as management faculty live it. Career Development International, 16(4-5), 422-445. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/13620431111167751

Ministry of Education and Science of the R Bulgaria [MES RB]. (2018). Rules for monitoring and evaluation of the research activity of scientific organizations, the research fund and higher schools [Act]. http://www.mon. bg.pravilnik_ocenka-NIDejnost_290618.

Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria [MES RB]. (2010). Bulgarian University Ranking System. https://rsvu.mon.bg/rsvu4/#/.

Murray, H. A. (1936). Basic concepts for a psychology of personality. Journal of General Psychology, 15(2), 241-268. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00221309.1936.9917922

Osterloh, M., & Frey, B. S. (2014). Academic rankings between the “republic of science” and “new public management”. In A. Lanteri, & J. Vromen (Eds.), Economics of economists: Institutional setting, individual incentives, and future prospects (pp. 77-103). Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139059145.005

Raitskaya, L., & Tikhonova, E. (2020a). Overcoming cultural barriers to scholarly communication in international peer-reviewed journals. Journal of Language and Education, 6(2), 4-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2020.11043

Raitskaya, L., & Tikhonova, E. (2020b). Pressure to publish internationally: Scholarly writing coming to the fore. Journal of Language and Education, 6(1), 4-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2020.10631

Raitskaya, L., & Tikhonova, E. (2020c). Seven deadly sins: Culture’s effect on scholarly editing and publishing. Journal of Language and Education, 6(3), 167-172. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2020.11205

Richard, J. E., Plimmer, G., Fam, K. S., & Campbell, C. (2015). Publishing success of marketing academics: Antecedents and outcomes. European Journal of Marketing, 49(1-2), 123-145. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/ejm-06-2013-0311

Romani-Dias, M., Carneiro, J., & Barbosa, A. D. (2019). Internationalization of higher education institutions: The underestimated role of faculty. International Journal of Educational Management, 33(2), 300-316. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/ijem-07-2017-0184

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54-67. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1020

Simeonov, O. (1997). Theoretical issues of control. Akadem Consult.

Sink, D. S. (1985). Productivity management: Planning, measurement and evaluation, control and improvement. Wiley.

Sink, D. S. (1986). Performance and productivity-measurement - The art of developing creative scoreboards. Industrial Engineering, 18(1), 86-90.

Stoyanov, I. (2012). Power and behaviour of the human factor in management. Dialog E-journal, 3, 23-55.

Stoyanov, I. (2014). Expectations, attitudes and behavior of the human factor in the organizational environment. KSI Transactions on KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY, 7(1), 45-49.

Turan, F. K., Cetinkaya, S., & Ustun, C. (2016). A methodological framework to analyze stakeholder preferences and propose strategic pathways for a sustainable university. Higher Education, 72(6), 743-760. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-015-9973-8

Vogel, R., & Hattke, F. (2018). How is the use of performance information related to performance of public sector professionals? Evidence from the field of academic research. Public Performance & Management Review, 41(2), 390-414. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2017.1400986

Vorontsova, A., Shvindina, H., Mayboroda, T., Mishenina, H. & Heiets, I. (2020). The impact of state regulation in a sphere of education on sustainable development of national economy. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 18(4), 275-288. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.18(4).2020.23

Vroom, V. H. (1985). Citation Classic - Work and Motivation. Current Contents/Social & Behavioral Sciences, 27, 20-20.

Yordanov, K. (1997). Control as state power. Economic Archive, 1, 31-38.

Yordanov, K. (1999). Control on public finances. Economic Archive, 1, 36-41