Assistant Professor of Public Administration investigating corruption, motivation & leadership from a behavioral perspective
Dr. Kristina S. Weißmüller is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, at Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Her research profile can be found here, her CV here.
Her research focusses on three fundamental issues in modern societies worldwide: (1) public sector corruption, (2) bureaucratic rule breaking, and (3) the psychological effects of ‘publicness’ on decision making.
These topics are particularly relevant for citizens’ trust in public institutions and significantly affect social cohesion. With her topical focus on the behavioral micro-level foundations of administrative behavior, as well as her proven expertise in quantitative, experimental, and psychometric research methods, she is an expert in behavioral public administration research.
Having received her PhD in 2020 from the University of Hamburg, Dr. Kristina S. Weißmüller joined the VU from the University of Bern, where she worked as a postdoc researcher and received the Innovative Teaching Prize 2021 for her lectures in public management. She is co-initiator and the principal investigator (PI) of the CorPuS project, a multinational consortium of 21 researchers worldwide to research public sector corruption. Kristina is a permanent research fellow of the Research Group for Public Integrity, Università della svizzera italiana, Lugano, Switzerland. Before dedicating herself to an academic career, Kristina studied Industrial Engineering and Management in Hamburg, Edinburgh, and Hangzhou (PR China) and worked for various international firms.
As a pioneering international scholar, Dr. Weißmüller has secured funding for several research projects, such as the on-going international SNIS-project on Deliberative Quality in International Organizations. She is strongly committed to the valorization and transfer of her research into practice, as is shown by her various international research collaborations (e.g., with UNODC, WTO, ITC) and invited public talks (e.g. as expert speaker at Transparency International’s Anti-corruption Practitioner’s Circle).
Her work has been published in a wide range of international journals including the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART), Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Frontiers in Psychology, Public Management Review (PMR), and the Review of Public Personnel Management (RoPPA).
Recent Publications & Research Activities
How do civil servants’ handle errors? Evidence from a conjoint experiment?
New publication: Fischer, C. & Weißmüller, K.S. (2024). The American Review of Public Administration https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740241267941
Effective Anti-Corruption Strategies for Public Organizations (EPIC)
New research project funded by NWO Talent Programme VENI. https://vu.nl/en/news/2024/veni-grant-for-public-administration-scientist-kristina-s-weissmuller
Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Prosocial Motivation, and PSM - A systematic review
New study presented at PMRC 2025, University of Seattle (June 2024). https://evans.uw.edu/faculty-research/pmrc2024/
Special Issue: Promises and Pitfalls of Digital Technologies in the Fight against Corruption
I am editing a Special Issue in IJPA, call for abstracts (due 30th Nov. 2024): https://think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issues/promises-and-pitfalls-of-digital-technologies-in-the-fight-against-corruption/
Navigating Uncertainty: Risk Governance in Complex Organizations
New publication: Fischer, C. & Weißmüller, K.S. (2024). Reference Module in Social Sciences, Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-13701-3.00318-2
Is There a Foreign Language Effect on Workplace Bribery Susceptibility?
New publication: Fitzgerald, J., Stroet, P., Weißmüller, K.S., & van Witteloostuijn, A. (2024). Journal of Business Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-024-05731-x [open access]
Deliberative Quality in International Organizations at WTO headquarters
Research presentation & practitioner dialogue at World Trade Organization, Geneva, 29th May 2024. https://snis.ch/projects/deliberative-quality-in-trade-related-international-organizations/
Burning Out Integrity? A Demands-Resources Model of Corruptibility
New experimental study presented at the 26th IRSPM Conference (April 2024), panel P14 Behavioral and Experimental Public Management
Understanding Legitimation Strategies for Criminal Practices
New research project funded: Weißmüller, K.S., van den Broek, T., & Steven J. Watson (2024-2025). Funded by the VU-UT Alliance, https://research.vu.nl/en/projects/justifying-the-unjust-a-multidisciplinary-study-exploring-and-ass
Elected: Treasurer and Member of IRSPM's Board of Directors
March 2024, K.S. Weißmüller was elected Treasurer and Member of the Board of Directors of IRSPM, https://www.irspm.org/about-us/board-of-directors
Interview for SRF: Large corruption scandal (Seco) tried in Switzerland
Expert interview on bribery and public sector corruption for Swiss public broadcasting (SRF): radio [link] & online news: https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/groesster-korruptionsfall-seco-skandal-wird-erneut-verhandelt
Micro-foundations of administrative corruption: Systematic literature review
New Publication: Weißmüller, K.S., & Zuber, A. (2023). Public Administration Review, https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13699 [open access]