Determinants of employees’ innovative behavior

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of workplace happiness, coworker support and job stress on employee innovative behavior. The mediating effects of coworker support and job stress are also explored. Design/methodology/approach The study uses survey data from 328 employees from different departments in four- and five-star hotels in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Based on an extensive literature review, five main hypotheses were formulated and explored. These were tested through multiple regression analysis using the SPSS Process Macro plugin. Findings Workplace happiness is the most significant determinant of employees’ innovative behavior, while coworker support plays a significant mediating role. Contrary to the study hypothesis and assumption, job stress alone is not a significant mediator; it only plays a mediating role when combined with coworker support. Research limitations/implications The sample is from a single sector (hotels) in a single country. Future research would benefit from examining the above relationships in other sectors (such as health and education) in the UAE. It could also explore the validity of these relationships in the tourism/hotels sector of other countries in the Middle East and Gulf regions. Originality/value Few studies have attempted to investigate factors that may promote or impede innovative behavior among employees in the hotels sector, particularly in the UAE. The data, model and findings of this study address this gap and add to the current state of knowledge.

Influence of Social Exchange Relationships on Affective Commitment and Innovative Behavior: Role of Perceived Organizational Support

“…To measure innovative behavior, a six-item scale, developed in [3], was used to measure individual IB, in line with past research [45,47,68,106,[115][116][117][118] carried out on the construct. A sample item is: "I create new ideas for difficult issues."…”

<p>Impact of Entrepreneurial Leadership on Innovative Work Behavior: Examining Mediation and Moderation Mechanisms</p>

“…Literature states that there are many contextual factors that also contribute to the individual's innovative behavior. 109 For example, it has acknowledged that most of the employees shape or regulate their behavioral patterns by observing their immediate supervisors and coworkers, and following the behavioral norms of the firm. 110,111 That is to say, when the overall organizational environment will helpful to augment employees' innovative behavior, employees of that organization will normally attempt to follow these embedded norms and will act innovatively 112,113 by watching their coworkers and leaders' innovative behavior.…”

Innovative Behaviors, Employee Creativity, and Sustainable Competitive Advantage: A Moderated Mediation

“…Customers' demands are changing, and so is their involvement in the value creation process of the firm. With these changes comes an alarming rate of economic and exponentially fierce competition, which requires innovation as a cornerstone for organizational sustainability [2,3]. Historically, the innovation literature has been skewed towards research on product and process innovation of manufacturing firms [3,4].…”