Mehmet Akif Demircioglu

Mehmet Akif Demircioglu is an associate professor at the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University in Canada. He is also an Executive Education Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (National University of Singapore), a Senior Fellow at the Smart Government Lab (University of St. Gallen), a joint researcher at The Institute for Future Government (Yonsei University), a research Fellow at the Institute for Development Strategies (Indiana University), and a Fellow at the Center for Organization Research and Design (Arizona State University). He holds MPA and PhD degrees from Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Bloomington. Before joining the SPPA, he was an assistant professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore (2017-2022).

His expertise encompasses public management, public sector innovation, entrepreneurship, good governance, and effective leadership, all viewed from an international and comparative perspective. He serves as a book review editor for Public Administration Review and as an associate editor for the following four journals: Public Management Review, European Management Journal, Australian Journal of Public Administration, and Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis. His first co-authored book, Public Sector Innovation (with David Audretsch), was published by Cambridge University Press in 2024. His second co-authored book, Demographic Shifts and Digital Innovation in the Public Sector (with M. Di Loreto and Kohei Suzuki), was published by Springer in 2025. His contributions have been recognized with three Research Excellence Awards (2018, 2019, and 2020) from the LKY School and the Best Teaching Award (2015) from the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Previously, he was a visiting professor, visiting scholar, or academic visitor at the University of Canberra (2015), Yonsei University (2016), Sciences Po (2018), Leiden University (2018), German University of Administrative Sciences (2019), Nazarbayev University’s the Graduate School of Public Policy (2018, 2022), University of St. Gallen (2023), University of Oxford (2025), and the University of Portsmouth (2025). He also received short-term training at the International Winter School on Public Policy in France (2020), CIDE in Mexico (2015), the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research (IQMR) at Syracuse University (2013), the University of Bologna in Italy (2011), the Hertie School of Governance in Germany (2010), and the École Nationale d’Administration in France (2009). During his graduate studies at Indiana University, he worked at the Indiana Business Research Center (2016-2017), the Urban Institute (2011), the Seoul Metropolitan Government (2010), Turkey’s Office of Personnel Management (2010), and the Wilson Center (2009).

• Ranked in the top 2% of all scientists in the world by Stanford University & Elsevier (https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/7) (Sep 2024)
• Ranked in the top 2% of all scientists in the world by Stanford University & Elsevier (https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/6) (one of the 85 Carleton University researchers/professors): https://newsroom.carleton.ca/2023/stanford-elsevier-highly-cited/  (Oct 2023)
• Writing Fellowship (teaching release) for the 2022-2023 Academic Year (not accepted due to relocation to Canada). Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS. (2022)
• 2020 Research Honors List (the category of “The most productive among the LKYSPP faculty members”), Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS (Jan 2021)
• 2019 Research Honors List (the category of “The most productive among the LKYSPP faculty members”), Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS (Nov 2019)
• Research Excellence Award (the category of “The highest research impact in the public administration and public policy faculty group”), Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS (Nov 2018)
• David Gould Merit-Based Scholarship, ASPA Section on International and Comparative Administration (SICA). (Mar 2017)
• The best paper award in public management/administration from the O’Neill School’s Annual Conference. (Feb 2017)
• ASPA Founders’ Fellow. (Mar 2016)
• The O’Neill School, Roy W. Shin Fellowship ($5,000). (Feb-Mar 2016)
• ASPA/CIDE, Mexico Young Scholar Award. (Aug 2015)
• The O’Neill School Outstanding Associate Instructor Teaching Award (given to only one associate instructor per year). (Apr 2015)
• Indiana University Vice President for Research Pre-Dissertation Grant for the University of Canberra ($3,300). (Feb-Mar 2015)
• The Maxwell School, Syracuse University, NY, USA, Qualitative and Multi-Method Research (IQMR) award, funded by the O’Neill School. (Jun 2013)
• The best paper award in public management/administration from The O’Neill School’s Annual Conference. (Apr 2012)
• Outstanding Commitment to Community Service and Best Graduate Volunteer of the Year, the O’Neill School, Indiana University. (Apr 2009) 
• Leadership Award from Indiana University, Bloomington campus. (Apr 2009)
• Leadership recognition from the Asian Cultural Center at Indiana University. (Apr 2009)
• Ranked 1% in the public administration field of the Public Personnel Selection Exam in Turkey. (2006)
• Dean’s list, Kocaeli University, Turkey. (2005-2006)                           
• Dean’s list, Kocaeli University, Turkey. (2004-2005)                           
• Fellowship and award from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Turkey based on merit (ranking). (2001)
• Ranked 1% in the national university entrance exam. (2001)

• M. Di (Manuel) Loreto, Kohei Suzuki, and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. Jun 2025. Demographic Shifts and Digital Innovation in the Public Sector. Springer. https://link.springer.com/book/9783031897108

• Mehmet Akif Demircioglu and David Audretsch. July 2024. Public Sector Innovation. Cambridge University Press (CUP), New York. Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Public-Sector-Innovation-Mehmet-Demircioglu/dp/1009279238

• Ali Asker Guenduez, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, Elena Maria Mueller, Emre Cinar. 2025. Digital Innovation Strategies in the Public Sector. Research Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2025.105274
• Ali Asker Guenduez, Nora Walker, and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2025. Digital Ethics: Global Trends and Divergent Paths. Government Information Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2025.102050
• Roberto Vivona, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, Emre Cinar. 2025. Towards a Theory of Reverse Knowledge Spillovers: Private Sector Knowledge As a Catalyst for Public Sector Entrepreneurship. Journal of Technology Transfer. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10961-025-10220-y
• Aarthi Raghavan, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, and Serik Orazgaliyev. 2025. Can VUCA events catalyze digital public sector innovations? Evidence from digital innovation trends in Asia. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity. 11(2): 100529.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joitmc.2025.100529  
• Nihit Goyal, Valerie Pattyn, and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2025. From Niches to the Mainstream: A Computational Review and Research Agenda for Policy Innovation. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis. 27(2): 210-229. https://doi.org/10.1080/13876988.2025.2475796
• Roberto Vivona, Tommy H. Clausen, Emre Cinar, Petter Gullmark, and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2024. Public sector entrepreneurship: an integrative review. Small Business Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-024-00965-5
• Mehmet Akif Demircioglu and David Audretsch. 2024. Public Sector Innovation. Cambridge University Press (CUP), New York. https://www.amazon.ca/Public-Sector-Innovation-Mehmet-Demircioglu/dp/1009279246/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=1.       
• Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2024. Innovation in the Public Sector: Sources and Benefits of Innovation. International Public Management Journal. 27(2): 190-220 https://doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2023.2276481
  2. Chutima Suchitwarasan; Emre Cinar; Chris Simms; Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2024. Innovation for sustainable development goals: A comparative study of the obstacles and tactics in public organizations. The Journal of Technology Transfer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-024-10101-wEmre Cinar, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, Christopher Simms, and Ahmet Coskun Acik. 2024. Public Sector Innovation in a City State: Exploring Innovation Types and National Context in Singapore. Research Policy. 53(2), 104915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2023.104915Hyesong Ha, Aarthi Raghavan*, and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2024. COVID-19 and Employee Productivity in the Public Sector. Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Administration. 46(1): 66-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/23276665.2022.2104737Emre Cinar, Christopher Simms, Paul Trott, and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2024. Public Sector Innovation in Context: A Comparative Study of Innovation Types. Public Management Review. 26(1): 265-292. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2022.2080860Mehmet Akif Demircioglu and Dina Sharipova. 2023. Does Public Sector Employment Matter for Subjective Well-being?: The Case of Kazakhstan. International Journal of Public Administration. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2023.2176516Kim Moloney, Pablo Sanabria Pulido, and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2023. Interrogating Hegemonic Embraces: Representative Bureaucracy, Methodological Whiteness, and Non-West Exclusions. Public Administration Review. 83(1): 195-202https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13512Lin Zhu* and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2023. National Approaches for Citizen Data Management in Response to COVID-19: An Overview and Implications of Contact Tracing Apps in 21 Countries. Information Polity. 28(1): 117-139https://content.iospress.com/articles/information-polity/ip229003Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, Taha Hameduddin, and Colin Knox. 2023. Innovative Work Behaviors and Networking across Government. International Review of Administrative Sciences. 89(1): 145-164. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208523211017654Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2023. The Effects of Innovation Climate on Employee Job Satisfaction and Affective Commitment: Findings from Public Organizations. Review of Public Personnel Administration. 43(1): 130-158https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X211043559Roberto Vivona*, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, and David Audretsch. 2023. Costs of Intersectoral Collaborations. Journal of Technology Transfer. 48(3): 873-899. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10961-022-09933-1Assel Mussagulova and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2023. What affects the turnover intention of civil servants: Evidence from Bhutan. The Australian Journal of Public Administration. 82(3): 325-345. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12573Mehmet Akif Demircioglu and Zeger van der Wal. 2022. Leadership and Innovation: What’s the Story? The Relationship between Leadership Support Level and Innovation Target. Public Management Review 24(8): 1289-1311.https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2021.1900348Faizus Sazzad*, V Priya Rajan*, and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2021. The Role of Leadership in Public Sector Innovation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Management of COVID-19 in Asian Countries. Frontiers in Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.743748Aarthi Raghavan*, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, and Serik Orazgaliyev. 2021. COVID-19 and the New Normal of Public Service: Understanding the meso and micro level changes. Sustainability 13(21), 11942 https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/11942Mehmet Akif Demircioglu and Roberto Vivona*. 2021. The Relationship between Procedural Tools and Public Sector Innovation: Evidence from Public Procurement in Europe. Policy & Society. 40(3): 379-396. https://doi.org/10.1080/14494035.2021.1955465Kohei Suzuki and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2021. Is Impartiality Enough? Government Impartiality and Citizens’ Perceptions of Public Service Quality. Governance 34(3):727-764. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gove.12527
• Top downloaded article
18. Aarthi Raghavan*, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, and Araz Taeihagh. 2021. Public Health Innovation through Cloud Adoption: A Comparative Analysis of Drivers and Barriers in Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 18(1), 334 https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/1/334Mehmet Akif Demircioglu and Roberto Vivona*. 2021. Depoliticizing the European Immigration Debate: How to Employ Public Sector Innovation to Integrate Migrants. Research Policy. 50 (2), 104150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2020.104150Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2021. Sources of Innovation, Autonomy, and Employee Job Satisfaction in Public Organizations. Public Performance & Management Review 44(1): 155-186. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2020.1820350Mehmet Akif Demircioglu and Farzana Chowdhury. 2021. Entrepreneurship in Public Organizations: The Role of Leadership Behavior. Small Business Economics 57(3): 1107-1123. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11187-020-00328-wAlbert Meijer, C. William R. Webster, Frank Bannister, Colin J. Bennett, Kaiping Chen, Heungsuk Choi, J. Ignacio Criado, Maria Alexandra Cunha, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, Mila Gasco-Hernandez, Paul Henman, Douglas Kimemia, Veiko Lember, Karl Löfgren, Luis F. Luna-Reyes, Ines Mergel, David Murakami Wood, Giorgia Nesti, Erico Przeybilovicz, Aarthi Raghavan*, Ola Svenonius, Rosamunde van Brakel, and Mete Yildiz. 2020. The COVID-19 crisis and the information polity: An Overview of Responses and Discussions in Twenty-One Countries from Six Continents. Information Polity.25(3): 243-274 https://content.iospress.com/articles/information-polity/ip200006Taha Hameduddin, Sergio Fernandez, and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2020. Conditions for Open Innovation in Public Organizations: Evidence from Challenge.gov. Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Administration. 42(2): 111-131 https://doi.org/10.1080/23276665.2020.1754867Zeger Van der Wal and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2020. Special Issue: Public Sector Innovation in the Asia Pacific –Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities, Australian Journal of Public Administration. 79(3): 271-278. www.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12435    
• Top downloaded article
25. Zeger van der Wal and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2020. The Effects of Ethical Climate and Ethical Leadership on Realized Innovation. The Australian Journal of Public Administration. 79(3): 386-404 https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12423
• Top downloaded articleMedia Report
: “Researchers Find That Ethical Leadership and Enabling Cultures Support Innovative Behavior.” Institute of Public Administration Australia. https://www.ipaa.org.au/researchers-find-that-ethical-leadership-and-enabling-cultures-support-innovative-behaviour/
26. Tommy H. Clausen, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, and Gry A. Alsos. 2020. Intensity of Innovation in Public Sector Organizations: The Role of Push and Pull Factors. Public Administration, 98(1): 159-176. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12617
• Top downloaded article
27. Mehmet Akif Demircioglu and David Audretsch. 2020. Conditions for Complex Innovations: Evidence from Public Organizations. Journal of Technology Transfer 45(3): 820–843 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10961-018-9701-5
28. Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2019. How Does Innovation in Government Persist? The Case of the Australian Government. Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Administration, 41(4): 217-229. https://doi.org/10.1080/23276665.2019.1692570
29. Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2019. Public Sector Innovation: The Effects of Organizational and Demographic Context. Public Management Review, 22(12): 1852-1875 https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.1668467  
30. Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, David B. Audretsch, and Timothy F. Slaper. 2019. Sources of Innovation and Innovation Type: Firm-Level Evidence from the United States. Industrial and Corporate Change. 28(6): 1365-1379https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtz010
31. Mehmet Akif Demircioglu and Chung-An Chen. 2019. Public Employees’ Use of Social Media: Its Impact on Need Satisfaction and Intrinsic Work Motivation. Government Information Quarterly, 36(1): 51-60; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2018.11.008
32. Mehmet Akif Demircioglu and David Audretsch. 2019. Public Sector Innovation: The Effects of Universities. Journal of Technology Transfer, 44(2): 596-614. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-017-9636-2
33. Kohei Suzuki and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2019. The Association between Administrative Characteristics and National-Level Innovative Activity: Findings from a Cross-National Study Public Performance & Management Review, 42(4): 755-782. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2018.1519449
34. Mehmet Akif Demircioglu and Evan Berman. 2019. The Effects of Innovation Climate on Turnover Intention: Evidence from the Australian Public Service. The American Review of Public Administration Review, 49(5): 614-628. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074018808914
35. Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2018. Examining the Effects of Social Media Use on Job Satisfaction in the Australian Public Service: Testing Self-Determination Theory. Public Performance & Management Review, 41(2): 300-327. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15309576.2017.1400991
36. Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2018. The Effects of Empowerment Practices on Barriers to Innovation: Evidence from the Australian Public Service. International Journal of Public Administration, 41(15): 1302-1313 https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2017.1387143 (Scopus)
37. Mehmet Akif Demircioglu and David Audretsch. 2017. Conditions for Innovation in Public Sector Organizations. Research Policy, 46(9): 1681-1691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2017.08.004
38. Mete Yildiz, Cenay Babaoglu, and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2016. E-Government Education in Turkish Public Administration Graduate Programs: Past, Present, and Future, Journal of Public Affairs Education, 22(2): 287-302. www.naspaa.org/JPAEMessenger/Article/VOL22-2/12_Yildiz.pdf
39. Serkan Akilli, Cenay Babaoglu, and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2013. Current Developments of E-Government Education for the Insights of Researchers and Undergraduate Students. Akdeniz University IIBF. (Turkish).
40. Mete Yildiz, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, and Cenay Babaoglu. 2011. Teaching Public Policy to Undergraduate Students: Issues, Experiences, and Lessons in Turkey, Journal of Public Affairs Education, 17(3): 343-365. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23036138

> Student coauthors are indicated with “*”.

• Kim Moloney, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, and Kohei Suzuki. 2024. Third Culture Professors: Nine Reflections of Three Public Administration Professors. The Craft of Teaching in Public Affairs. https://www.routledge.com/The-Craft-of-Teaching-in-Public-Affairs-Instructors-Reflecting-on-the-Tools-and-Tips-of-Their-Trade/Hatcher-Rauhaus-McDonaldIII/p/book/9781032671277?srsltid=AfmBOopcptFmr5aAqZkZEW68upF8JrDw_oTUMaZ1MjlIcmw3u1cBa4Ix
• Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, Farzana Chowdhury, and Roberto Vivona. 2020. Public Sector Entrepreneurship. Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, Springer. Edited by Ali Farazmand. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_4002-1
• Roberto Vivona, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, and Aarthi Raghavan. 2020. Innovative Skills for the Public Servant of the Future: What, Why, How, Where, and When? The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant. Edited by Helen Sullivan and Helen Dickinson. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-030-03008-7_34-1
• Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2019. David Audretsch: A Great Mind, An Outstanding Researcher, and A Humble Individual (Festschrift for Prof. David Audretsch) From Industrial Organization to Entrepreneurship. Edited by Erik E. Lehmann & Max Keilbach. Springer, 439-442. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-25237-3_43
• Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2017. Organizational Innovation. Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, Springer. Edited by Ali Farazmand, section editor: Nancy S. Lind.
• Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2016. Power and Empowerment. Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, Springer. Edited by Ali Farazmand, section editors: Tansu Demir, Carla Flink, and Chris Reddick.
• Yousueng Han and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2016. Accountability, Politics, and Power. Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, Springer. Edited by Ali Farazmand, section editors: Tansu Demir, Carla Flink, and Chris Reddick.
• Cenay Babaoglu and Mehmet Akif Demircioglu. 2012. E-government Courses in the Curriculums of Turkish Public Administration Departments. Book Chapter on E-Government (Turkish).