Nonresponse bias in public leadership research: an empirical assessment

Abstract

Self-reported measures of leadership are widely used in public management research, but nonresponse bias poses a threat to the validity of these data. Although this measurement problem is acknowledged, it has received limited empirical attention because nonresponse bias is inherently challenging to study. To address this issue, we examine nonresponse bias among public managers by analyzing multilevel surveys of managers and employees in which we can compare employee ratings of leadership for both responding and nonresponding managers. Using 16,531 employee responses spread over six data sets from three countries, we find only limited evidence of nonresponse bias in managers’ self-reported leadership. Additional Bayesian analyses indicate that—overall—the data are indicative of the absence of substantial nonresponse bias. However, the results vary between data sets and call for more research on nonresponse bias in leadership research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dominik Vogel

Dominik Vogel ([email protected]) is an assistant professor of public management at the University of Hamburg, Germany. His research focuses on the motivation of public employees, leadership, and human resource management in the public sector, interaction of citizens with public administrations, and performance management.

Christian B. Jacobsen

Christian B. Jacobsen ([email protected]) is a professor at the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University, Denmark and co-director in the Crown Prince Frederik Center for Public Leadership. His research focuses on leadership, motivation, and performance in the public sector with particular attention to the healthcare sector.