A meta‐analysis of the relationships of age and tenure with innovation‐related behaviour

Abstract

One particularly persistent and prevalent negative age stereotype is that older workers are less innovative and more resistant to change. Because older workers are also more likely to have longer organizational tenure, negative age stereotypes contribute to the perception that long‐tenured workers are less innovative and more resistant to change, too. Guided by human capital theory, this study argues that the capacity to contribute to innovation‐related behaviours (IRB) might actually grow with age and tenure, counteracting the presumed age‐related declines in this type of job performance. Using a meta‐analysis that included 98 empirical studies, the present research examines the relationships of age and organizational tenure with the generation, dissemination, and implementation of new ideas. Overall, the pattern of results in the study suggests that older workers and longer‐tenured workers do not engage in less innovation‐related behaviour than their younger and more junior counterparts. In addition, there is little evidence of curvilinearity in the relationships of age and tenure with IRB; workers at the high end of the age and tenure distributions did not perform especially poorly on these tasks. Practitioner points Contrary to common belief, the results of this study show that age and tenure are not negatively related to innovation‐related behaviours. That is, older and longer‐tenured workers do not engage in less innovation‐related behaviour than younger, more junior workers. These results hold true even at the high end of the age and years‐of‐service continuum. This study concludes that the negative stereotype that older and longer‐tenured workers are less innovative is not based on accumulated empirical evidence. As such, excluding older workers from innovation‐related tasks is counterproductive.

Innovation Capacity and Innovation Performance in Terms of Educational Level of Managers

“…Findings from previous studies supported this work (i.e. Giuri et al, 2007;Liu et al, 2016;Ng & Feldman, 2013;Watson, 2006). …”

“…Giuri et al (2007Giuri et al ( : 1111 found that there is a relationship between education and innovation capacity. Ng and Feldman (2013) and Liu et al (2016) determined that training has impact on innovation capacity. Previous studies also support first hypothesis (H 1 ).…”

“…They are found that there is a relationship between education and innovation capacity. On the other hand, it is argued that Liu et al (2016) and Ng & Feldman (2013) examined the impact of training on innovation capacity at Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute and their research results showed that training for innovation by collective action and multiple knowledge sources has a positive impact on innovation capacity and development value chains. Watson (2006) argued that education via information and communication technologies leads to improve innovation capacity.…”

Successful Aging at Work: The Role of Job Crafting

“…Consistent with the notion, several researchers have shown that older workers use action-regulation strategies aimed at changing their environment to adapt to age-related changes (e.g., Wahl, Iwarsson, & Oswald, 2011 ). A second stream of research, on proactive work behavior (e.g., Frese, Garst, & Fay, 2007 ;Parker & Collins, 2010 ), provides further evidence for the notion that older workers exercise agency in the workplace (Ng & Feldman, 2013 ;Van Veldhoven & Dorenbosch, 2008 ). Proactive work behaviors are defi ned as self-initiated, future-and change-oriented behaviors (Grant & Ashford, 2008 ;Parker, Bindl, & Strauss, 2010 ) that may be directed toward different targets at a variety of levels (individual/self, co-workers/team, and the organization; see, e.g., Grant & Ashford, 2008 ;Griffi n, Neal, & Parker, 2007 ).…”

Intergenerational resource tensions in the workplace and beyond: Individual, interpersonal, institutional, international

“…A different large-scale analysis on over 38,000 workers finds no overall relationship between worker age and job performance (McEvoy & Cascio, 1989). Moreover, a metaanalysis of 98 field studies (comprising nearly ten thousand workers) finds no evidence that older worker are less innovative than younger ones (Ng & Feldman, 2013).…”