Public Service Motivation (PSM), als ein Konzept des öffentlichen Sektors, beruht auf der Annahme bestimmter Motive, die charakteristisch für öffentlich Bedienstete sind. Mit dem Versuch dieses Konstrukt auf den Nonprofit-Sektor zu übertragen, wird das Ziel verfolgt ein tieferes Verständnis für die Motivation der Beschäftigten zu erlangen und die dazu existierenden, eher geringen Befunde der PSM-Forschung um ein qualitatives Vorgehen zu erweitern. Die vorliegende Arbeit bereitet hierfür zunächst den theoretischen Hintergrund der PSM auf und nimmt Bezug zu der von Perry (1996) weiterentwickelten Theorie der PSM. Im anschließenden empirischen Teil werden in einer Fallstudie verschiedene Anstellungsformen sowie Tätigkeitsbereiche der Nonprofit-Organisation „Deutsches Rotes Kreuz“ untersucht. Anhand der ermittelten Ergebnisse kann dabei die Existenz der PSM nachgewiesen werden. Nicht zuletzt werden durch die Wahl eines qualitativen Forschungsdesigns aufschlussreiche Erkenntnisse bezüglich der untersuchten Einflussfaktoren gewonnen. Es kann festgehalten werden, dass sich Haupt- und Ehrenamtliche in Ihrer PSM nicht gravierend unterscheiden. Hingegen die PSM zwischen Arbeitern der Verwaltungs- und Arbeitern der Street-Level-Ebene hinsichtlich ihrer Ausprägung von einander abweicht. Darüber hinaus liefert die Arbeit erste Erklärungsversuche und geht dabei unter anderem auf die Theorie der extrinsischen und intrinsischen Motivation, sowie auf die Selbstbestimmungstheorie ein. / Public Service Motivation (PSM) as a concept for the public sector is based on certain motives which are typical for public employees. The goal in attempting to transfer this construct to the nonprofit sector is to get a better understanding of motivation of employees and to extend the existing, somewhat scant findings in PSM research using a qualitative approach. This paper begins by presenting the theoretical background of PSM and refers to the developed theory of PSM by Perry (1996). The subsequent empirical section presents a case study which examines different types of appointments as well as areas of operation within the “German Red Cross”, a nonprofit organization. The results indicated here demonstrate the existence of PSM. Lastly, useful insights are delivered in terms of the influencing factors, this due in no small part to the choice of a qualitative study design. It may be noted that no significant difference in PSM is found between full-time employees and volunteer workers. By contrast, the way PSM is expressed by street-level workers differs widely from that of those working at an administrative level. In addition, the paper provides first attempts at an explanation and refers to the theory of the extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, as well as to self-determination theory.

Practitioners of Forecast-based Action (FbA) argue that a humanitarian response able to utilize forecasts to accurately predict disaster, secure funding, and take action before the onset of a crisis will benefit donors and beneficiaries alike. In search of effective and efficient early-action regimes, a number of major humanitarian actors are developing FbA projects of various designs, predominantly in response to natural disaster and famine. While numerous organizations and institutions have expressed interest in developing FbA mechanisms, the tool has only been applied in a limited capacity to the humanitarian needs generated by armed conflict. This research seeks to understand whether a scalable FbA approach can be developed to stage principled, anticipatory humanitarian action in response to situations in which rigorous evaluations predict the likelihood of imminent armed conflict. The hypothesis is that the application of FbA to armed conflict is possible, but due to the complex political nature of conflict, implementing organizations should try to focus on creating mechanisms managed by humanitarian actors and, in so far as possible, be insulated from outside influence. This research is the first academic work to specifically investigate the application of FbA to armed conflict. Following an extensive review of current FbA mechanisms and conflict early warning practices, this research concludes that a conflict-centered FbA system akin to the automated FbA systems in use today to respond to natural disaster and famine is possible, but that the endeavor presents many practical and conceptual barriers to implementation. In particular, diffuse models such as the Start Fund offer a hopeful glimpse at a type of horizontal, member-driven FbA mechanism that is both highly context-sensitive and relatively insulated from outside influence. Such a design, however, features notable and inherent limitations in its ability to reliably and accurately predict the outbreak of conflict and respond in a manner that minimizes regretful actions.