Organizational environments, work characteristics and employee innovative behavior in the digital age: an fsQCA approach
Abstract
Purpose
For start-ups or growing firms, to effectively navigate the unpredictable nature of digital development and achieve superior innovative performance, it is crucial to have a workforce comprised of creative and innovative employees. Drawing upon the principles of social information processing theory, this study aims to investigate whether specific combinations of organizational internal and external environments, as well as work characteristics in the digital age, can foster a high level of employee innovative behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
By collecting a multilevel and multisource data set comprising 693 employees and 88 CEOs from 88 start-ups or growing firms, this study used fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to examine the distinctive configurations associated with achieving a high level of employee innovative behavior.
Findings
The study found that six solutions enabled employees to innovate more effectively, but six solutions led to the absence of employee innovative behavior.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study offer important theoretical and practical implications to motivate employee innovative behavior in Chinese enterprises.
Originality/value
First, this study contributes to the literature on employee innovative behavior by addressing the need to explore the impact of the digital context on promoting innovation among employees. Second, this study adds to the existing literature on employee innovation and entrepreneurship by examining multiple organizational contexts and their influence on innovative behavior. Third, this study makes a significant contribution to the field of employee innovative behavior by examining the macroenvironment surrounding digital transformation within enterprises and integrating both internal and external organizational factors.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Since submission of this article, the following author has updated their affiliation: Meng Xi is at the College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.
The authors appreciated the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 72302074, 72372070) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. B230207058) supported this study.
Citation
Liu, Y., Zhang, X., Xi, M., Liu, S. and Meng, X. (2023), "Organizational environments, work characteristics and employee innovative behavior in the digital age: an fsQCA approach", Chinese Management Studies, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/CMS-04-2022-0125
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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