Innovative Behavior in the Workplace: An Empirical Study of Moderated Mediation Model of Self-Efficacy, Perceived Organizational Support, and Leader–Member Exchange

Abstract

Recently, most organizations, from for-profit organizations to nonprofit organizations, are facing a rapidly changing environment and increased uncertainty. Organizational performance now depends on quickly responding and overcoming change through employees’ innovative behavior. As the importance of innovative behavior has been highlighted, many organizations are looking for effective ways to encourage employees to adopt innovative behavior. From the resource perspective, innovative behavior can be regarded as high-intensity job demand, and organizations should support innovative behavior by providing and managing employees’ resources. Based on the conservation of resource perspective, this study attempted to empirically explore how self-efficacy and perceived organizational support affect the relationship between leader–member exchange (LMX) and innovative behavior. Using two-wave, time-lagged survey data from 337 employees in South Korea, we found that leader–member exchange enhances innovative behavior via the mediation of self-efficacy. Additionally, perceived organizational support positively moderates the relationship between leader–member exchange and self-efficacy. Our findings demonstrate that self-efficacy is a mediating mechanism in the relationship between leader–member exchange and innovative behavior. Furthermore, this study suggests that the higher the level of perceived organizational support, the greater the effect of leader–member exchange on innovative behavior affected by self-efficacy.

The moderating effect of self-efficacy on supervisory support and organizational citizenship behavior

“…Thus, self-efficacy is a personal resource and a belief in one’s ability to perform specific tasks ( Cinamon, 2006 ). According to Choi et al (2021) , self-efficacy might be considered an important individual-level job resource which based on employment characteristics. Self-efficacy, which reflects people’s perceptions of social and organizational situations, can also influence innovative behavior.…”

Perceived Organizational Support and Creativity of Science-Technology Talents in the Digital Age: The Effects of Affective Commitment, Innovative Self-Efficacy and Digital Thinking

“…Conversely, employees withdraw psychologically and emotionally from situations that threaten their positive self-perceptions and reduce their affective commitment to the organization. 5 At the same time, the organization's attention and concern for employees not only increase their affective input at work 32 and develop an emotional attachment toward their organization, 33 but also enhance their sense of responsibility and bring about creative performance. 34 Based on this, this study proposes the following hypothesis: Affective commitment has an impact on employees' psychological beliefs as well as their organizational outcomes, 35 and it is an important factor in producing organizational citizenship behavior 36 and creativity.…”

“…Employees who engage in creative activities frequently need to invest a large amount of time, energy, and continuous effort, as well as face a high risk of failure, 32 all of which require strong self-confidence. However, innovative selfefficacy can provide a source of motivation for this belief and meet the conditions for creative output.…”

“…However, innovative selfefficacy can provide a source of motivation for this belief and meet the conditions for creative output. The higher the selfefficacy of innovation, the more resources employees have, which can effectively counteract the various pressures arising from creative activities, 32 reduce the negative effects of resource depletion, and increase employee creativity. The principle of resource investment proposes that if individuals have a high sense of self-efficacy, they usually have a high level of confidence in their abilities and are more inclined to invest resources to prevent the loss of resources in the future and promote creativity.…”

Social Determinants of Voice Outcomes: The Configurational Analysis of the Effects of LMX and Peer Relationships

“…Based on characteristics such as mutual trust, respect, and obligation, leaders divide their subordinates into “in-group” and “out-group” [ 36 ]. Employees with high LMX can perform better with the support, information, and opportunities provided by leaders [ 37 , 38 ]. Therefore, an employee voice with high LMX may be recognized as potentially beneficial to the work team by the leader and coworkers, which in turn may further improve their influence on the team.…”