Prof. Bo Wen, associate professor of the Department of Government and Public Administration of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Macau, has published two articles in leading journals in the field of public administration / management.
“The effects of artificial intelligence and victims’ deservingness information on citizens’ blame attribution towards administrative errors”, co-written by Prof Wen’s team, was published in Public Management Review. This study offers a unique perspective, seeking to understand the changing patterns of interaction and blame attribution between citizens and public institutions in the era of digital governance. They specifically explored how different decision-making agents (pure AI decisions, AI-assisted human decisions, and human decisions) and the disclosure of deservingness information affect citizens’ attitudes and patterns of blame attribution. Through a survey experiment conducted in mainland China, the study revealed that citizens tend to attribute lighter blame to errors generated by pure artificial intelligence or AI-assisted decisions, while disclosing deservingness information of victims exacerbates citizens’ tendency to assign blame. This study not only significantly deepens the relevant literature in the field of administrative accountability but also provides rich policy implications as government agencies increasingly employ AI for public service delivery and regulatory decisions.
Additionally, another research paper of his titled “A Moderated Mediation Model on the Relationship Among Public Service Motivation (PSM), Self-Efficacy, Job Satisfaction, and Readiness for Change” has been recently published in the Review of Public Personnel Administration (ROPPA). Through a survey of 512 doctors in public hospitals in mainland China, the research constructed a moderated mediation model to examine the relationship between individuals’ PSM and their readiness for change. The data analysis demonstrated that doctors with higher PSM and job satisfaction are more prepared to embrace changes. However, when considering multidimensional factors at both individual and organizational levels, the difference between individuals’ expectations and organizational realities significantly moderates the direct and indirect impacts of PSM on readiness for change. In practice, doctors often lack sufficient influence over healthcare policy formulation, leading to a significant gap between their personal expectations and realities. Individuals with stronger self-efficacy are more likely to keenly perceive this gap (i.e., Expectancy-Disconfirmation), leading to reduced job satisfaction and consequently weakening their proactive readiness for change.
Public Management Review is an internationally renowned journal in the disciplines of public administration and public management. In 2023, the journal’s impact factor reached 5.0, placing it in the Q1 zone of SSCI.
The Review of Public Personnel Administration has established a high academic status in the global field of public human resources management since its establishment. According to the latest Journal Citation Reports released by Clarivate, the journal’s impact factor reached 4.2, ranking it 11th among global journals in the field of public administration.
Prof. Bo Wen received his Ph.D. degree in Public Policy and Management, University of Southern California, USA and is now serving as assistant dean of FSS and associate professor in the Department of Government and Public Administration. He has published dozens of papers in top-notch journals in recent years, including Public Administration Review, The China Quarterly, and Journal of Contemporary China. He has also received many honours and awards, including a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the William E. Mosher and Frederick C. Mosher Award by the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), and the 2022 Outstanding Reviewer Award from the internationally renowned journal Public Administration.
