To improve the development of innovations, an understanding of employees' innovative work behaviour (IWB) is necessary. For researching the construct, a measurement instrument is required. The first step in the development of the instrument was its conceptualization. IWB is defined as the sum of work activities employees carry out for innovation development. It is dynamic and contextbound and includes the reflection on activities and outcomes. A questionnaire measuring employees' work activities in authentic work situations was developed. The instrument was validated with employees of an automotive supply company (N ¼ 335) and with vocational teachers (N ¼ 293). Evidence for reliability and validity was found. The questionnaire can be used in professional domains to investigate employees' IWB during the process of innovation development. For HRD, understanding how professional development occurs throughout this process is crucial for fostering innovation development in daily work life and in formal training.

In workplaces, innovative products and processes are required to address emerging problems and challenges. Therefore, understanding of employees' innovative work behaviour, including the generation, promotion, and realisation of ideas as components of this behaviour is important. In particular, what fosters innovation development and what triggers these activities is important for its promotion and adoption in contemporary workplaces. To investigate how and why innovations at work are developed and enacted, an explorative study comprising structured interviews with vocational teachers in the German vocational system was conducted. The teachers reported on activities they undertook during the development of a specific innovation. Furthermore, they provided information on factors that made this innovation necessary and that they were activated by. The study indicates that even when opportunities for innovation development existed in a workplace, the needs and goals of teachers were pivotal for these opportunities to be recognised and teachers' innovative work behaviour to be triggered. By analysing vocational teachers' work activities, we found that the development of innovations was a complex, iterative and primarily social process. By encouraging teachers to act on opportunities for change and by establishing a collaborative structure at schools, innovation development can be facilitated. We also found that throughout the development of an innovation, reflection played an important role. If the importance of reflective activities is acknowledged by workplaces such as these participants' vocational schools, this not only fosters innovations but also the teachers' professional development.

This study explores error situations and learning activities of nurses after the experience of an error episode. We assume that errors – although undesirable events – are a natural part of work processes and can lead to individual learning and organizational change. The importance of dealing with errors in an open and learning orientated way has been emphasized in applied works on quality and safety management. Furthermore, research on work‐place learning and professional development has indicated that learning from errors is an important way of developing professional competence. Until now, little is known about how and under which conditions individual learning from errors takes place at work. For the purpose of empirical investigation, a process model was developed which conceptualizes learning from errors in terms of the engagement in self‐regulated learning activities after the experience of an error episode. This model was further developed in an exploratory interview study with 10 experts in the field of hospital nursing. We found that especially non‐formal learning activities that incorporate social exchange were considered to be important. The results of the study guide the further development of research instruments and studies aiming to investigate learning from errors.

Given the lack of active nurses in industrialized countries throughout the world, in combination with demographic changes, it is of utmost importance to protect nurses’ well-being and to prevent psychological distress, because of their strong association with premature occupational leave. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of quality of leadership and social support at work on well-being and psychological distress of nurses and to determine whether nurses’ overcommitment mediates the relationship between the abovementioned determinants and the outcomes. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather our data. This study utilized part of the database of the Nurses’ Early Exit Study. A total of 34,771 nurses (covering all nurse qualifications) working in hospitals, nursing homes, and home-care institutions in 8 European countries filled out a questionnaire (response rate = 51.4%). For all model variables (job satisfaction, satisfaction with salary, positive affectivity, personal burnout, negative affectivity, quality of leadership, social support from immediate supervisor, social support from near colleagues, and overcommitment), psychometrically sound, that is, valid and reliable measures were used. Outcomes from testing a structural equation mediation model indicated that, respectively, positive and negative influences of leadership quality and social support from supervisor and colleagues on nurses’ well-being and psychological distress are partially mediated, that is, reduced, by nurses’ overcommitment. Social work environment is highly important in relation to nurses’ well-being and psychological distress.

No abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of reflection as a preparatory mechanism for employees' engagement in innovative work behaviour (IWB). This issue was explored in a study with 67 teachers at the highest level of German secondary education. Specifically, we investigated whether teachers who reflected on work tasks, the social context and their work performance were more engaged in the exploration of opportunities for innovation as well as the generation, promotion and realization of innovative ideas. By applying path modelling, we found that work-related reflection facilitated all dimensions of IWB. Teachers' IWB most strongly depended on their performance-related reflection. Also, reflecting on work tasks and the social context affected teachers' IWB indirectly by benefitting their performance-related reflection. As a consequence, reflection should be valued as a resource for innovation and professional development as well as a vital component of work routines, organizational cultures and job training.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to get deeper insight into the complex nature of the relationship between team learning conditions, team learning behaviours (TLBs) and innovative work behaviour (IWB) by considering and combining different neglected aspects in research. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was filled out by 593 vocational educators of 117 interdisciplinary work teams in vocational colleges in Germany. Correlations were calculated and structural equation modelling at two levels was conducted. Findings The results indicate that TLBs, especially team reflexivity and boundary spanning, relate positively to IWB. Furthermore, team structure, task interdependence and group potency relate positively to TLBs. It means that TLBs can be fostered by establishing these team learning conditions and, thus, IWB can be fostered. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of the study is that the data collection was cross-sectional. Longitudinal studies are required to capture the dynamic character of team learning and to identify causal relationships. Practical implications It is important to make all employees in vocational education aware of the importance of TLBs especially of team reflexivity and boundary spanning. Originality/value This study provides practical implications for organisations to foster IWB and indications for a better understanding of the relationship between team learning conditions, TLBs and IWB considering and combining different neglected aspects such as examining TLBs separated in one study.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to increase insight in the mechanisms of feedback processes by investigating what kind of feedback characteristics lead to what specific kind of informal learning activities (ILAs). Design/methodology/approach -The 31 persons participated were recruited by the snowball method, and work in education, healthcare or profit sector. They filled out a learning log. The respondents wrote down feedback incidents that occurred and the ILA they carried out in response. A total of 367 feedback incidents led to 913 ILA. Quantitative analyses such as correlations and regression analyses are conducted. Findings -Feedback led to ILA, especially to reflection, and communication with colleagues. There is no pattern found in the relation between outcomes. Timing aspects seem irrelevant for ILA. Feedback consisting of discussing possibilities for personal improvement leads to ILA. Precise, positive and helpful feedback leads to ILA. Research limitations/implications -Because of the aim and design of the study, the outcomes are not generalizable and individual characteristics (e.g. motivation, attitude) were not measured. A few ILA are mentioned only a few times. Practical implications -Feedback that consists of discussing possibilities for personal improvement can be used to increase ILA. Feedback can be used to increase reflection and communication at work. Creating a work culture that fosters learning from feedback is important. The quality of feedback providing competences is important. Originality/value -This paper gives in-depth insight into the relation between specific characteristics of feedback and the ILA. It also assesses to what ILA a specific feedback incident (directly) leads.