Innovative work behavior scale: development and validation of psychometric properties in higher education in the GCC countries

Abstract

PurposeThe study aims to develop an innovative work behavior (IWB) scale for the faculty members and faculty leaders of universities in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC). This research is intended for assessing the level of IWB in higher education and evaluating its psychometric properties.Design/methodology/approachThe study targets academic staff of universities in the GCC region, and out of 810 questionnaires that were distributed, only 773 valid responses were obtained of which 517 were responses from males and 256 from females whose ages range between 33 and 67 years.FindingsThe exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used and confirmed a five-factor structural model (opportunity exploration, idea generation, idea promotion, idea realization and idea sustainability), and the model has a satisfactory fit. The scale consists of 27 items with high Cronbach's alpha value of 0.87, demonstrating good internal consistency. Preliminary results suggest that the IWB scale has adequate convergent and divergent validity.Practical implicationsThe IWB scale can be a useful tool for evaluating and developing a high level of innovative work behavior that maintains university services' sustainability and increases industries' competitiveness.Originality/valueThis research provides insights into the importance of IWB in achieving tangible success to the educational institutions. It provides a new method to confront sudden and unexpected circumstance such as what has happened during COVID-19 pandemic.

A predictive structural model of new ways of working on innovative work behaviour: Higher education perspective in the Gulf Cooperation Council

“…For the IWB scale, the results in F I G U R E 3 Structural model for the study variables validity. This confirms the observations of prior studies on higher education (Ayoub et al, 2021;Lambriex-Schmitz et al, 2020a, 2020b that consider IWB a multidimensional concept.…”

“…A literature review highlighted speculation about whether the core elements of NWW are unidimensional or multidimensional. (Gerards et al, 2018(Gerards et al, , 2020(Gerards et al, , 2021, especially in terms of IWB in the educational sector (Ayoub et al, 2021;Lambriex-Schmitz et al, 2020a). Table 1 describes the dimensions of NWW.…”

“…However, other researchers consider IWB a multidimensional concept (de Jong & den Hartog, 2010; Krause, 2004;Messmann & Mulder, 2012). , IWB is connected to various processes in which employees generate, create, develop, promote, realize, apply and modify new ideas to improve their work role performance (Baharuddin et al, 2019) According to Ayoub et al (2021), the dilemma in addressing IWB stems from the number of dimensions to be applied, and in which context. The number of IWB dimensions varies among studies: the issue is still debated and remains context-bound in the literature (Ayoub et al, 2021;Baharuddin et al, 2020;de Bruin & Steyn, 2019;de Jong & den Hartog, 2008Lambriex-Schmitz et al, 2020b;Messmann & Mulder, 2012Scott & Bruce, 1994).…”

“…However, there is no agreement on the dimensions of NWW because of alternate ways—voluntary and compulsory—of implementation. The relation between the compulsory implementation of NWW and employees' outputs remains unexplored (Gerards et al, 2018, 2020, 2021), especially in terms of IWB in the educational sector (Ayoub et al, 2021; Lambriex‐Schmitz et al, 2020a). Table 1 describes the dimensions of NWW.…”

“…Although prior studies enriched our understanding of NWW practices and benefits, more empirical studies are needed to clarify their influence on innovative work behaviour (IWB), especially in higher education institutions (Almahamid et al, 2021) where few exploratory exceptions are available (Moll, 2015; Moll & de Leede, 2017). IWB refers to individuals' ability to explore, generate, champion, implement and sustain new ideas to enhance their work role performance (Ayoub et al, 2021; Lambriex‐Schmitz et al, 2020a). Using qualitative data from four case studies (insurance firm, municipality, telecommunications call centre and software company), Moll (2015) and Moll and de Leede (2017) explored the intricate relationships between NWW practices and IWB.…”