Determinants of innovative behaviors among self-initiated expatriates

Abstract

Purpose Expatriate mobility is increasing globally, in volume and diversity. A growing element of this overall increase has been the greater share of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) working outside their home countries. In some host countries, SIEs make up a majority of the overall workforce. The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of innovative work behavior (IWB) of SIEs in one such country. Drawing upon leader-member exchange (LMX) theory and the conceptual framework of the resource-based view of career capital, the authors’ examine the influences of LMX, perceived innovation-reward, job knowledge and contextual knowledge on SIEs’ IWB. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on the analysis of survey results from 229 SIEs based in the United Arab Emirates. The authors use hierarchal regression and an SPSS macro to assess the significance of the interaction effects. Findings Results indicate significant direct effects for LMX and perceived innovation-reward on SIEs’ IWB. Results also reveal significant interaction effects suggesting that the relationship between LMX and SIEs’ IWB is stronger when job knowledge is high and when reward for innovation is high. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the determinants of SIE’s IWB. This study investigates the effect of LMX, career capital differences (job knowledge and contextual knowledge) and perceived innovation-reward on SIEs’ IWB. This is also the first study to examine the interaction effects of LMX and individual differences (job knowledge and contextual knowledge) on SIEs’ IWB.

The Role of Military Leadership in Shaping Innovative Personnel Behaviour: The Case of the Lithuanian Armed Forces

“…Future work. The positive importance of rewards (especially financial) to innovative behaviour of employees is not contested in scholarly literature [90], but there is a lack of research on the relationship between innovative behaviour and other means of promoting innovative behaviour.…”

“…Rewards are perceived as personnel motivation tools, usually in financial terms, that show recognition and gratitude to employees for innovative behaviour (H3 Rewards is correlated with Delegating). Rewards are essential for innovative behaviour, because compared to other forms of support for innovation, rewards are more tangible [90].…”

“…The criteria depend on the organization's innovative objectives, e.g., on how radical or complex the innovation is, what its added value is, etc. Management (leaders) of the organization have an important task in building an effective rewards programme that sets criteria, ensures the principle of fair remuneration [90,92], and also offers balance between extrinsic rewards and other factors that form innovative behaviour of employees. Delegating is the granting of relative autonomy to employees in performing certain tasks.…”

A Comparison Analysis Between Pre-departure and Transitioned Expat-Preneurs

“… Froese and Peltokorpi (2013) and Fee and Gray (2020) highlight that the demand for SIEs is on the rise, especially in Europe and Asia ( McNulty et al, 2013 ). In addition, skilled SIEs constitute a valuable asset to the worldwide economy ( Doherty and Dickmann, 2008 ; Fairlie, 2010 ; Hussain et al, 2019 ). Comparing statistical data of SIEs, 15 percent of them found a job on their own, 13 percent were sent by an employer, and 6 percent were recruited by a local company ( Statistics Lithuania, 2016 ).…”

“…Nowadays, more and more people work abroad. In 2017, it was estimated that there were 66.2 million expatriates worldwide, which represents 0.77 percent of the total global population ( Finaccord, 2018 ; Hussain et al, 2019 ). “Being rooted in a profession rather than a country and trying to find the best possibility to work in that profession without being limited by national borders is what reflects the reality of many – especially highly skilled – individuals of our time” ( Agha-Alikhani, 2018 , p. 2).…”