The Role of External Information Awareness and Proactiveness of Innovation Strategy in Employees' Innovation Behavior: A Psychological Perspective

Abstract

Due to innovation is highly knowledge intensive, employees' innovation behavior plays a central role in knowledge creation and distribution in organizations. Therefore, in knowledge management initiatives, it is important to encourage employees' IB, which involves developing, promoting, judging, distributing and implementing new ideas at work. From a psychological perspective, this study applies the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to better understand employees' IB, and also extends TPB by considering the effects of two unexamined yet important organizational factors: external information awareness (EIA) and proactiveness of innovation strategy (PIS). Results from a survey of employees in Japanese organizations indicate that EIA and PIS are positively related with employees' attitude towards innovation, subjective norm about innovation, and perceived behavioral control to innovation, which is, in turn, significantly influence employees' IB. Employees' attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control mediate partially the effects of EIA and completely the influence of PIS to employees' IB. These findings provide directions for more efficient employees' IB encouragement, by focusing on improving perceived behavior control, EIA and PIS. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.