Driving employee-driven innovation through workplace learning: The story of Singapore SMEs

Abstract

This study is part of a larger research study that seeks to understand how employee-driven innovation (EDI) is initiated, enacted and sustained in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore. To date, most of the EDI studies are conducted in the Nordic context where management, employees and public authorities work closely with each other. In more hierarchical societies, such as those in Asia, employees may be given less discretion in exercising initiative to improve work processes and conditions. This study seeks to provide insights on factors that support employees initiating, enacting and sustaining innovations in Singapore SMEs through case studies. Besides interviews, data gathering was also undertaken through observations of the employees, supervisors/managers and owners at work and their interactions where possible. It is found that employees’ engagement in workplace learning contribute to initiation, enactment and sustenance of EDI in Singapore SMEs. The findings underline the significance of workplace learning in developing and strengthening employees’ innovation capacity.

Employee-driven innovation in the public sector : At the intersection of innovation support and workplace conditions

“…The engagement of employees and the burning commitment of enthusiastic individuals may make it last a while (more on that below), but a long-lasting realisation of an organisation's full innovation capacity requires organisational conditions that provide an expansive learning environment (cf. Evans & Waite, 2010;Fuller & Unwin, 2004;Tan & Sim, 2022). This result corroborates the results of previous scholars who have shown that expansive learning environments are needed to achieve better impact of investments in learning and EDI (Halvarsson Lundkvist & Gustavsson, 2017;Tan & Sim, 2022), and that workplaces with restrictive learning environments that invest in formal education programs do not reap the full benefits or long-term effects of their investments (Evans & Waite, 2010).…”

“…Employees represent enormous untapped potential; both because they are so numerous and because they work closely with citizens or end users of services or processes. Thus, they possess a wide range of context-dependent and experience-based knowledge that has been shown to be valuable in innovation work (Tan & Sim, 2022). By involving employees in innovation as part of their everyday work, the organisation may also become more internally malleable and responsive as new workplace goals emerge or demands from citizens or employees change (Billett, 2012).…”

“…Consequently, EDI is often described as a bottom-up process that departs from the day-to-day activities of employees engaged in changing their work (Høyrup, 2012). However, critical voices are being raised in regard to whether EDI should be viewed as a purely bottom-up process, since it is also a social process which necessitates collaboration between employees, employees and managers, and employees and citizens (Sundbo, 2003;Tan & Sim, 2022). In relation to this, Høyrup (2012) discusses three possible 'orders' of EDI, where first-order EDI are innovation processes both initiated and fully driven by employees, second-order EDI refers to innovation processes that are initiated by employees but formalised and coordinated by management, and thirdorder EDI involves top-down driven innovation processes in which employees are invited to participate.…”

“…One differentiation may be that if employees take part in innovation, they will surely learn something, but the reverse is not necessarily true (Høyrup, 2012;Smith, 2017). Engaging in workplace learning does not automatically lead to EDI, even if the main objective may have been to elicit innovative learning and, by extension, EDI (Tan & Sim, 2022). This may be due to learning environments characterised by poor conditions or restricted access to learning opportunities, but it may also be explained by employees' lack of willingness or motivation to engage in innovative learning and EDI (Billett, 2009;Evans et al, 2006;Evans & Waite, 2010;Fuller & Unwin, 2004).…”

“…Considering the presented research, workplace learning and EDI require both employee engagement and supportive learning environments. Having only one of the two will not suffice; it is by necessity a complex interrelationship (Billett, 2012;Felstead et al, 2009;Gustavsson, 2009;Halvarsson Lundkvist & Gustavsson, 2017;Høyrup, 2012;Tan & Sim, 2022). The interplay between learning environments and employee engagement can also be seen as a negotiation, since workplace goals and interests may differ from those of the employee (Billett, 2004b).…”