Aktuelle Publikationen

Media psychological research has identified a broad range of gratifications that can result from playing digital games and fuel players’ entertainment experiences. Most of these studies focused on pleasurable, hedonic entertainment experiences (i.e., enjoyment). However, scholarship increasingly acknowledges that digital games can also offer more profound (eudaimonic) entertainment experiences, characterized by the feeling of being moved and the experience of meaningfulness (i.e., appreciation). Knowledge about the antecedents of this form of digital game entertainment experiences is still sparse; thus, the present study investigates the role of well-established gaming gratifications for the emergence of both enjoyment and appreciation. In addition, trait-like preferences for eudaimonic and hedonic entertainment (i.e., entertainment motivations) are investigated as possible antecedents of players’ entertainment experiences. Empirically, the study builds on a 2-wave online survey of U.S. players of the action-role-playing game Mass Effect: Andromeda (n = 1,074). The findings show that obtained gaming-specific gratifications are closely related to players’ enjoyment but also to their appreciation of the game. In contrast, trait-like entertainment motivations only exert a small influence on both entertainment experiences. Implications for theorizing and investigating gaming entertainment experiences are discussed.

When analyzing situations in which multiple people are experiencing emotions together—whether the emotions are positive or negative and whether the situations are online or offline—we are intuitively drawn to the emotions of each individual in the situation. However, this type of analysis often seems incomplete. In many of the cases in which people experience emotions together, there appear to be emergent macrolevel affective processes that cannot be readily captured at the individual level. In this article, we examine these macrolevel affective phenomena, which are termed collective emotions. We open with a general review of research on collective psychological processes. We then define collective emotions and discuss their key features. Next, we focus our attention on the emergent properties of collective emotions and map them using three dimensions: quality, magnitude, and time course. Finally, we discuss pressing open questions and future directions for research on collective emotions.

Die Gewalt gegen Bürgermeister, Landräte und Verwaltungsmitarbeiter scheint seit einiger Zeit deutlich zuzunehmen. Kaum eine Woche vergeht, in der nicht von körperlichen Übergriffen, Beleidigungen oder anderen Anfeindungen gegen sie in den Medien berichtet wird. Der vorliegende Beitrag will erstens einen Überblick über zentrale Ergebnisse ausgewählter Studien der letzten knapp zehn Jahre geben; zweitens widmet sich der Beitrag auf der Basis von Umfragedaten den Fragen, ob es systematische Faktoren gibt, die diese Anfeindungen erklären können und ob sich diese zwischen Verwaltungsmitarbeitern und Kommunalpolitikern unterscheiden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Gründe für gewaltsame Übergriffe vielfältig sind. Gefährdet sind die untersuchten Personengruppen vor allem auf kommunaler Ebene bzw. in Großstädten.

The goal of this article is to develop an empirically grounded framework to analyze how new technologies, particularly those used in the realm of datafication, alter or expand traditional organizational control configurations. Datafication technologies for employee-related data-gathering, analysis, interpretation, and learning are increasingly applied in the workplace. Yet there remains a lack of detailed insight regarding the effects of these technologies on traditional control. To convey a better understanding of such datafication technologies in employee management and control, we used a three-step, exploratory, multi-method morphological analysis. In step 1, we developed a framework based on 26 semi-structured interviews with technological experts. In step 2, we refined and redefined the framework in [...] and redefined the framework in four workshops with scholars specializing in topics that emerged in step 1. In step 3, we evaluated and validated the framework using potential and actual users of datafication technology controls. As a result, our refined and validated “Datafication Technology Control Configuration” (DTCC) framework comprises 11 technology control dimensions and 36 technology control elements, offering the first insights into how datafication technologies can change our understanding of traditional control configurations.

The dynamics of collaboration networks of firms follow a life cycle of growth and decline. That does not imply they also become less resilient. Instead, declining collaboration networks may still have the ability to mitigate shocks from firms leaving and to recover from these losses by adapting to new partners. To demonstrate this, we analyze 21.500 R&D collaborations of 14.500 firms in six different industrial sectors over 25 years. We calculate time-dependent probabilities of firms leaving the network and simulate drop-out cascades to determine the expected dynamics of decline. We then show that deviations from these expectations result from the adaptivity of the network, which mitigates the decline. These deviations can be used as a measure of network resilience.

This article addresses the debate on the political professionalization backgrounds of executive candidates at the regional level. At this level, two opposing forces may intervene. On the one hand, as regional executive offices attain authority, more experienced politicians may become increasingly interested in seeking such positions. On the other, the concomitant presidentialization of regional elections by the major parties may render them attractive to well-known political outsiders. Using an original data set comprising the political backgrounds of Spanish regional executive candidates, our findings show that the greater the degree of authority held by regional governments, the higher their degree of political insiderness. However, the argument in favour of a greater presence of outsiders in the major parties does not seem to be supported.

Welche Kandidierenden wünscht sich die Öffentlichkeit als Richterinnen und Richter am Bundesverfassungsgericht? Verfassungsgerichte benötigen öffentliche Unterstützung. Diese ergibt sich auch aus der Legitimität der gewählten Richterinnen und Richter. Wir argumentieren, dass politische Akteure durch (nicht-)institutionalisierte Auswahlkriterien die (1) juristische und (2) politisch-ideologische Ausrichtung des Gerichts bestimmen. Kandidierende besitzen Eigenschaften beider Dimensionen. Durch ein Discrete-Choice-Experiment ermitteln wir die öffentlich präferierten Eigenschaften. Wir zeigen, welche Rolle die politische Position von Befragten bei der Bewertung von Kandidierenden spielt und vergleichen die „ideale Richterin“ mit aktuellen Richterinnen und Richtern sowie Kandidierenden rund um Stephan Harbarths Wahl. Die Ergebnisse erweitern unser Verständnis von gerichtlicher Legitimität.

This article provides a normative assessment of parliamentary representation in fields of differentiated integration in the European Union. Based on three criteria of legitimate democratic representation, autonomy, accountability and equality, we evaluate four alternative representation models. These models comprise (I) complete representation of all members of the European Parliament (MEPs), (II) insider representation through the creation of new, regime‐specific assemblies, and (III) partial representation without and (IV) with inclusive deliberative stages. We find that the current system of complete representation, while honouring the principle of equality, violates autonomy and accountability in areas of differentiated integration. We therefore advocate a model of partial representation: MEPs elected in opt‐out states should not take part in EP voting but should be invited to participate in the deliberative stages of parliamentary decision‐making. This reconciles the principles of autonomy, accountability and equality, at least as long as there is no truly European electoral system in place.

Die digitale Transformation macht deutlich, dass der öffentlichen Verwaltung zur Umsetzung Kompetenzen fehlen. Dieser Beitrag berichtet über die Ergebnisse von Experteninterviews und zeigt Wege zur digitalen Maturität der öffentlichen Verwaltung auf.

Almost all regulatory policy stops at the national border. Thus, when conducting business abroad, the behaviour of firms is regulated by their host, not their home country. Yet, international institutions have issued (non-binding) codes of conduct on social/environmental aspects of firm behaviour, and various high-income countries discuss how to improve extraterritorial firm behaviour – with high political contestation over the appropriate mix of state intervention and corporate self-regulation. Exploiting a unique national referendum on this issue in Switzerland, we investigate how these interact from a public opinion standpoint. Based on a nationally representative survey experiment (N=1564), we find that while baseline support for state intervention is high (approx. 60%), corporate self-regulation decreases such support. However, only credible voluntary business initiatives lead to substantial reductions. Our results speak to a broad policy debate in European countries and the EU on how to ensure compliance of firms with human rights and environmental standards.

What is the effect of foreign aid on the survival of autocratic regimes? Extant work about the effect of foreign aid on the recipient’s political regime has come to contradictory conclusions. Current findings display the full spectrum of possibilities from a democratizing effect to the enhancement of authoritarian survival. While some studies suggest that foreign aid strengthen autocrats and their incentives to cling to power, others have focused on specific periods and donors, thus finding a democratizing effect of foreign aid. In this article, we argue that the effect of foreign aid on autocratic survival does not operate in a direct way, but it is conditional on the levels of political leverage exerted by democratic donors vis-à-vis the autocratic leaders. This leverage, we find, is defined by the capability of democratic donors to back conditionality with effective political pressure. More specifically, we find that given similar levels of aid, autocratic recipients that are highly dependent on the United States—a quintessential democratic donor with extensive political influence—have a shorter survival rate when compared to those with which the United States has weaker ties and thus lower leverage.