Knowledge workers' existential affirmation and innovativeness: a Kierkegaardian redescription of Drucker

Abstract

PurposeAlthough existing studies demonstrate positive relationships between ethical cultures and innovativeness, their explanations of why an ethical culture leads to innovativeness are limited. This study explores the relationship between ethical organizational culture and knowledge workers' innovativenessDesign/methodology/approachBased on Kierkegaardian existential philosophy, this study proposes a research model that employs knowledge workers' existential affirmation as the link between ethical culture and innovativeness. The main hypothesis proposed in this study is that ethical organizational culture offers knowledge workers the opportunity to find their existential affirmation, which leads them to become more innovative. A structural equation modeling analysis is based on data collected from a survey of 348 knowledge workers from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in different hi-tech industries.FindingsThe findings suggest that among the four subdimensions of an ethical organizational culture, ethics training and awareness raising had the strongest relationships with knowledge workers' existential affirmation, which, in turn, had a significant relationship with their innovativeness.Originality/valueBased on this philosophical reflection, this study develops a research model that examines knowledge workers' existential affirmation as the factor that links ethical organizational culture and knowledge workers' innovativeness. The authors test ethical organizational culture as an environment that allows knowledge workers to validate their existential affirmation. Further, they test the link between knowledge workers' existential affirmation and their innovativeness.

Organizational Culture as a Prerequisite for Knowledge Transfer among IT Professionals: The Case of Energy Companies

“…Moreover, they confirm the conclusions of M.M. Shin et al [169] on the existence of a relationship between ethical organizational culture and knowledge workers' innovativeness.…”

“…Their definite advantage is the topicality and importance of the issues raised. They are in line with other research conducted by other prominent scholars [46,96,97,108,116,124,169]. In-depth and dedicated analyzes of the energy sector in Poland, in the lens of IT, are necessary and justified, not only from the perspective of the industry itself.…”

Analisis Pemanfaatan Sumber Daya Manusia Dalam Pengelolaan Dan Pengembangan BUMDes Fa’omasi Desa Bukit Tinggi Kecamatan Ulumoro'o Kabupaten Nias Barat

“…Peran SDM terlihat dalam manajemen internal BUMDes, identifikasi dan pengelolaan potensi ekonomi lokal, pemasaran produk atau layanan, serta menciptakan sinergi antara potensi lokal, partisipasi masyarakat, dan keberlanjutan ekonomi. Pemberdayaan SDM diharapkan dapat menjadikan BUMDes sebagai motor penggerak pembangunan ekonomi desa yang berkelanjutan dan memberikan dampak positif bagi kesejahteraan masyarakat setempat (Shin et al, 2022).…”

Influence High-Performance Work Systems and Knowledge Management Process on Open Innovation, The Mediator Effect Knowledge Worker Productivity

“…Drucker first conceptualized the term knowledge worker (1969, p. 264) , which refers to someone with knowledge and the ability to use that knowledge. A KWP is regarded as a highly qualified professional who combines theoretical and analytical skills in order improve products or services (Shin et al, 2022;Veiga, et al, 2021). In the global economy, as more organizations automate work, more knowledge workers are in demand (Shin et al, 2022).…”

“…Shehzad et al (2022), believe that the limited literature on KMP and open innovation needs to be expanded. Sahibzada et al (2020) emphasize that KMP indirectly affects open innovation (Abubakar et al, 2019;Iqbal et al, 2019); a number of further variables reflect the influence of KMP on open innovation (Kianto et al, 2019;Shin et al, 2022, Butt et al, 2019. in recent decades, research on KBV has stressed the importance of knowledge workers' productivity for open innovation.…”