Conocimiento científico del desempeño laboral en universidades públicas. Una revisión bibliométrica

The main objective of this bibliometric article was to determine the scientific approach to work performance in public universities, which was developed through a bibliometric research related to research on work performance in public universities. For this purpose, the present research carried out a quantitative approach research, at the descriptive level of the scientific knowledge process, non-experimental design, longitudinal type. The bibliometric analysis of 440 documents in Scopus on work performance in public universities between 1974-2023, shows an exponential growth of research on this topic in recent decades. The United States leads in production, followed by Spain and Malaysia; with global contributions from 65 countries. The most prolific author is Ghasemy (6 articles); although Bakker et al. (2005) are the most cited (1286 times). The literature is scattered in 172 sources; mainly journals in higher education, educational management and psychology. Social sciences dominate (57% of articles), followed by business & management (21%). 95 funding institutions are identified, with Asian and Latin American government agencies standing out. VosViewer reveals 5 thematic clusters, with recent emphasis on alternative metrics, pandemics and PLS-SEM. It concludes a growing global and interdisciplinary interest in strategies to improve work performance and well-being in universities; but longitudinal and multilevel studies are lacking.