Role of Relational Ties in the Relationship between Thriving at Work and Innovative Work Behavior: An Empirical Study

Abstract

Top management in organizations have begun to realize that innovative employees add to the competitive edge of a company which serves to maintain their position in intense market competition. For this purpose, management needs to seek new ways to combine the social environment and employees in the workplace in an inextricable manner that supports innovation. The purpose of this paper was to examine the role of thriving at work and its effects on an individual’s innovative behavior. Based on the socially embedded model of thriving, we aimed to assess the relevant related work on structured potential effects with relational ties (i.e., strong versus weak). Particularly, these ties affect the heedful relating differently. This study examined the antecedents of thriving at work and the innovative behavior among employees at a global investment company. Using partial least squares modeling on a sample of 412 observations (strong and weak ties), strong support was found for the theory-driven hypothesized relationships. The results contribute to a better understanding of the relational roles concerning recently emerging constructs of “thriving at work” and “positive organizational scholarship.” The implications and limitations of this study are further discussed.

The impact of individual creativity, psychological capital, and leadership autonomy support on hospital employees’ innovative behaviour

“…Interestingly, thriving has also been directly linked to IIB. Riaz et al found this strong linkage between employees' thriving at work and their innovative work behaviour [75]. However, scarce studies have examined these relationships in an healthcare context.…”

Work Is Where Home Is, or Vice Versa? A Multi‐stakeholder Lens on Nurturing Relationships for Thriving

“…The authors of the model presented task focus, exploration, and heedful relating as agentic work behaviors in the model, and together they help individuals to feel active and purposeful (Spreitzer et al, 2005). This paper focuses on heedful relating through energy-giving relationships from different relational resources (Riaz, Xu, & Hussain, 2020).…”

“…When employees are relating heedfully, they demonstrate understanding of how their job fits with those of others at work in order to achieve team or organizational goals (Spreitzer et al, 2005). Through heedful relating, individuals become more conscious, learn more from colleagues, and boost their energy through interrelated work (Riaz et al, 2020). Only a handful of studies have addressed heedful relating specifically.…”

The impact of individual creativity, psychological capital, and leadership autonomy support on hospital employees’ innovative behaviour

“…Interestingly, thriving has also been directly linked to IIB. Riaz et al found this strong linkage between employees' thriving at work and their innovative work behaviour [76]. However, scarce studies have examined these relationships in an healthcare context.…”