Employees and the Innovative Idea Contribution Process: Clarifying Individual and Contextual Characteristics

Abstract

Understanding how contextual and individual characteristics affect employee willingness to propose innovative ideas to an organization is an important, if understudied aspect of the innovation process. Based on an interactional perspective, widely used in creativity and innovation studies, this paper examines the influence of both contextual and individual characteristics on employee willingness to contribute innovative ideas to other organizational actors. Using a quasi-experimental approach, it is reported that intrinsic motivation, knowledge and curiosity are more important motivators than individual position in the company and any potential financial rewards. Additionally, the personality dimensions of the Big-Five Inventory (BFI) show no significant affect on employee willingness to contribute ideas. The results of the study are contextualized with the literature regarding the idea contribution processes, and further research directions are indicated.

Understanding the drivers of innovation in an organization: a literature review

“…It is an inherent motivation that helps in the generation of new ideas and encourages innovation. It enables individuals to participate in cognitive and social processes to produce new and unique outcomes (Reychav et al , 2012; Chiang et al , 2014; Sergeeva, 2014; Li et al , 2018). Extrinsic motivation is linked to an individual’s actions motivated by external incentives such as idea generation.…”

“…Several high-ranked universities such as Harvard Business School and the University of Stanford, USA and the Warwick University and University College London in the UK have contributed to substantial research work. This research contribution could also be another reason for a considerable number of research articles coming from these countries (Sergeeva, 2014;Hodgkinson and Healey, 2014;Brown and Eisenhardt, 1995;Amabile, 1997). Similarly, the contribution of other countries such as Canada, China and Germany in the area of health care, toward innovation-based research can be attributed to their focus on fostering entrepreneurial activity (Melissanidou, 2016), team diversity (Glaveanu and Taillard, 2018) and innovation practices (Wright et al, 2000).…”

IT‐enabled idea competitions for organizational innovation: An inquiry into breakdowns in adaptation

“…Idea competitions are mainly vehicles for innovation, but companies also pursue indirect or long-term objectives including a supportive innovation culture (Schepers, Schnell, & Vroom, 1999), building skills and capabilities (Sergeeva, 2014), knowledge management (Erickson et al, 2012), involving and motivating employees (Ekvall, 1995;Gamlin et al, 2007;Rohrbeck & Schwarz, 2013) and strengthening imagerelated objectives (Erickson et al, 2012;Townsend, 2009). Submitted ideas and implemented ideas measure the success of idea competitions (Zhu, Djurjagina, & Leker, 2014) along with the percentage of participating employees and estimated savings (Lasrado, 2012;van Dijk & van den Ende, 2002)-meaning focus is on short-term and direct objectives.…”