Innovative behavior in individuals and work groups: Influence of collective psychological capital, strategic directionality and the ability to reach agreements

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the mediating role of Psychological Capital and Agreement between strategic directionality and innovative behavior of both individual and work team members. Data from 231 public sector organizations´ employees in Costa Rica was collected. PLS-SEM technique was used, by Smart PLS 3.0 software, to estimate the parameters of two measurement models and two structural models proposed in this research. The study findings indicate that work group´s perception of strategic directionality has a direct effect on work group innovative behavior, and revealed indirect effects mediated by collective Psychological Capital and Agreement. On the other hand, the empirical results provide support for the hypothesis that collective psychological capital increases the innovative behavior of individuals. The proposed models have not been previously tested in the literature, therefore the present study provides new evidence on how to enhance innovative behavior in work groups and individuals. As findings were obtained in Government and public sector organizations the study is an empirical contribution in the understanding of innovative and entrepreneurial behavior of public sector´s employees considering the scarce literature on this topic.