PurposeEnterprise social media (ESM) applications offer new opportunities for organizations to mobilize employees for open innovation, by promoting innovation beyond traditional R&D functions. Despite the popularity and success of these applications, current research has yet to fully explore the potential of ESM applications as a driver of employee-driven innovation, specifically through advancements in innovation culture. To fill this gap, this study proposes a theoretical framework that explains the role of ESM applications in facilitating employee innovation.Design/methodology/approach The authors administered a cross-sectional survey to collect data from professionals who use ESM applications regularly at work. Following a pilot study and instrument refinement, the authors conducted a field study to test measurement and the structural model by using the partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method.FindingsThe findings of this study support the validity of the proposed theoretical model. First, the results confirmed the three antecedents of ESM use for innovation: perceived innovation possibilities enabled by ESM technology, the expected value of ESM use for innovation and organizational support for using ESM applications for innovation. Next, the results confirmed the importance of ESM use in encouraging individual innovation productivity in terms of product/service innovation, process innovation and social innovation. Finally, the results corroborated the mediating role of risk-taking and knowledge-sharing culture in the use of ESM to increase innovation productivity.Originality/valueThe findings presented here have implications for theory and practices that would concern fostering a supportive environment and building an organizational culture that promotes employees' innovation behavior (internal open innovation) by using social technologies.
Enterprise Social Network (ESN) applications offer new opportunities for organizations to mobilize employees, promoting innovation beyond traditional R&D functions. Despite the popularity and success of these applications, current research has yet to fully explore the potential of ESN applications as both drivers of productive innovation and innovation culture, specifically. This paper proposes a theoretical framework that explains the role of ESN applications in facilitating organizational-wide ideation, collaboration, and socialization, thereby promoting innovation culture and innovation productivity. This study reveals that the dimensions of innovation culture, namely knowledge sharing, transparency, and risk tolerance, mediate the effects of ESN applications on the measures of firm innovation productivityproduct/service innovation, process innovation, and social innovation. The findings presented here have implications for theory and practice, namely concerning building an organizational culture that promotes open innovative behavior using social technologies.
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