Bio - Prof. dr. Kenn Meyfroodt

Research topics
Projects
Publications

Research topics

I am passionate about understanding how management decision-making works and impacts employees. While a rational approach to decision-making is often touted for its advantages, in practice, purely rational decision-making is most-often unattainable and unrealistic due to the human factor inherent in management decision-making. Decision-makers base their actions on their personalized interpretations and (collective) sense-making of information, while perceptions and attributions regarding information are influenced by experiences, values, and personalities. Therefore, it is essential to comprehend (1) how decision-makers, both individually and as a group, acquire, process, make sense of, and share information among themselves and with others, as well as (2) how the informed decisions resulting from such a multi-level information processing sequence impact other stakeholders like employees. This becomes even more crucial in today's world where managers must navigate the abundance of available and continuously monitored (or even AI generated) data, making it challenging to grasp the breadth (as well as the reliability) of data, interpret it accurately, and create relevant insights into often complex subject matters for the purpose of informed decision-making.

Starting from this business problem and societal challenge, I aim to counterbalance a purely rational decision-making perspective by examining decision-making through a behavioral lens and utilizing the “strategy-as-practice” approach. This involves conducting an in-depth analysis of what actually occurs in activities related to the thinking and doing of strategy and decision-making.

Concretely, I aim to offer insights into how management artifacts, decisions, and systems influence the perceptual, attribution, and sense-making processes of individuals and groups across private, public, and non-profit sector organizations. To do so, my research manifests in three research topics:

Informed decision-making;
Consensus (metrics);
The impact of (strategic) management decision-making, tools, and decisions on employees.

Projects

(Co-)supervised PhD-projects

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The Impact of Organizational Sustainability on Employee Outcomes

dr. Tom Kluijtmans
Internal defense: Tuesday, 26 September 2023
Public defense: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Supervisor: Prof. dr. Saskia Crucke – Ghent University
Co-supervisor: dr. Kenn Meyfroodt – Ghent University

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Funded research projects

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It takes two to tango: The barriers, catalysts and benefits of strategic information sharing between political boards and senior management in local authorities.

Special Research Fund (BOF)
BOF.PDO.2021.0046.01 – BOF21/PDO/053 – dr. Kenn Meyfroodt
November 2021 – November 2024

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Publications

International peer-reviewed journal articles

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Desmidt, S. & Meyfroodt, K. (2024). Be prepared! Local politicians’ proclivity for local government adaptive capacity building in response to COVID-19: the role of risk perceptions. Public Management Review, 26(7), 1803–1826. Doi:10.1080/14719037.2023.2165699

Part of the WHO COVID-19 Research Database

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Meyfroodt, K., & Desmidt, S. (2024). All aboard? How Line-of-Sight impacts the strategic commitment of nonprofit employees. Public Management & Governance Review, 1(1), 1-22. Doi:10.60733/PMGR.2024.02

Part of the opening volume and edition of Public Management & Governance Review.

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Khalifa, B., Desmidt, S., Huisman, J., Meyfroodt, K., & Karataş Acer, E. (2024). Similar or different? An analysis of the organisational values expressed by public and private Turkish universities. Higher Education Quarterly, 00, e12538. Doi:10.1111/hequ.12538

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Kluijtmans, T., Meyfroodt, K., & Crucke, S. (2024). Doing good and doing well? CSR climate as a driver of team empowerment and team performance. Journal of Business Ethics. Doi:10.1007/s10551-024-05678-z

Awarded the 2022 Best Paper award – Corporate Responsibility Research (CRR) Conference.

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Willems, J. & Meyfroodt, K. (2024). Group Research: Why are we Throwing Away the Best of our Observations? Group & Organization Management. Doi:10.1177/10596011241246303

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Willems, J. & Meyfroodt, K. (2024). Debate: Reporting Pre-election Polls: It is Less About Average Jane and Joe, and More about Polarized Karen and Kevin. Public Money & Management, 44(3), 185-186. Doi:10.1080/09540962.2024.2306912

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Meyfroodt, K., & Desmidt, S. (2024). Does governing board involvement impact strategy implementation effectiveness? The role of information sharing in the politics-administration interface. Public Management Review, 26(3), 565-590. Doi:10.1080/14719037.2022.2103174

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Desmidt, S. & Meyfroodt, K. (2024). Unlocking politicians’ potential: what fosters purposeful use of performance information in support of voice? Local Government Studies, 50(1), 150-173. Doi:10.1080/03003930.2023.2198216

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Suykens, B., Meyfroodt, K., Desmidt, S., & Verschuere, B. (2022). Does performance-based accountability impact how non-profit directors perceive organizational performance? Insights from rational planning. Public Management Review, 24(9), 1355-1382. Doi:10.1080/14719037.2021.1900349

Selected for the virtual symposium of 21 IRSPM papers that found a home in PMR. In this symposium, the community of scholars who have made IRSPM and PMR leading outlets for their work is celebrated.

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Crucke, S., Kluijtmans, T., Meyfroodt, K., & Desmidt, S. (2022). How does organizational sustainability foster public service motivation and job satisfaction? The mediating role of organizational support and societal impact potential. Public Management Review, 24(8), 1155-1181. Doi:10.1080/14719037.2021.1893801

Awarded the 2020 Best Doctoral Student Conference Paper Award – Public and Nonprofit (PNP) Division, the Academy of Management (AOM) Annual Meeting.

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Bauwens, R., & Meyfroodt, K. (2021). Debate: Towards a more comprehensive understanding of ritualized bureaucracy in digitalized public organizations. Public Money & Management, 41(4), 281-282. Doi:10.1080/09540962.2021.1884349

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Desmidt, S., & Meyfroodt, K. (2021). How does public disclosure of performance information affect politicians’ attitudes towards effort allocation? Evidence from a survey experiment. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 31(4), 756-772. Doi:10.1093/jopart/muaa054

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Meyfroodt, K., & Desmidt, S. (2021). Can rational planning stimulate cooperative behaviour? How perceived self-efficacy mediates the relationship between strategic plan use, performance information use and strategic voice by local councillors. Public management review, 23(6), 818-842. Doi:10.1080/14719037.2019.1699949

Runner-up for the Best Poster Award, Research day, FEB, Ghent University.

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Desmidt, S., & Meyfroodt, K. (2021). What motivates politicians to use strategic plans as a decision-making tool? Insights from the theory of planned behaviour. Public management review, 23(3), 447-474. Doi:10.1080/14719037.2019.1708438

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Meyfroodt, K., Desmidt, S., & Goeminne, S. (2019). Do politicians see eye to eye? The relationship between political group characteristics, perceived strategic plan quality, and strategic consensus in local governing majorities. Public Administration Review, 79(5), 749-759. Doi:10.1111/puar.13058

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Desmidt, S., Meyfroodt, K., & George, B. (2019). Shared strategic cognition in Flemish city councils: the relevance of political and demographic group characteristics. Public Management Review, 21(7), 945-967. Doi:10.1080/14719037.2018.1538423

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Desmidt, S., & Meyfroodt, K. (2018). Debate: Unravelling strategic planning effectiveness—what about strategic consensus?. Public Money & Management, 38(4), 255-256. Doi:10.1080/09540962.2018.1449456

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Dutch language peer-reviewed journal articles

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Meyfroodt, K., Desmidt, S., & Crucke, S. (2023). Doet de authenticiteit van duurzaamheidsinitiatieven ertoe? Een perceptieonderzoek bij departementshoofden van Vlaamse lokale besturen. Vlaams Tijdschrift voor Overheidsmanagement, 3, 33-49.

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Suykens, B., Meyfroodt, K., Desmidt, S., & Verschuere, B. (2022). Leidt publieke verantwoording tot ‘betere’ non-profitprestaties? Vlaams Tijdschrift voor Overheidsmanagement, 1, 31-44.

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Kluijtmans, T., Meyfroodt, K., Crucke, S., & Desmidt, S. (2021). Is managementaandacht voor duurzaamheid belangrijk voor de jobtevredenheid in publieke organisaties? Een onderzoek binnen Vlaamse lokale besturen. Vlaams Tijdschrift voor Overheidsmanagement, 2, 25-41.

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Meyfroodt, K., Desmidt, S., & Goeminne, S. (2020). Eén coalitie, één strategische visie? De relatie tussen politieke groepskarakteristieken, gepercipieerde kwaliteit van het strategisch plan en strategische consensus in Vlaamse lokale coalities. Vlaams Tijdschrift voor Overheidsmanagement, 3, 31-50.

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Meyfroodt, K., Desmidt, S., Decock, K., & George B. (2019). Een gedeelde strategische visie in Vlaamse gemeenteraden: De relevantie van politieke en demografische groepskarakteristieken. Vlaams Tijdschrift voor Overheidsmanagement, 2, 19-41.

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PhD thesis related material

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Meyfroodt, K. (2022). Strategic planning through a cognitive and behavioral lens : strategic plan use, strategic consensus, and strategic voice. Bestuurskunde [dissertatierubriek], 31(3), 81-82. Doi:10.5553/Bk/092733872022031003007

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Meyfroodt, K. (2020). Strategic planning through a cognitive and behavioral lens : strategic plan use, strategic consensus, and strategic voice. Ghent University. Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent, Belgium.

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