Individual-Level Factors are Significantly More Predictive of Employee Innovativeness Than Job-Specific or Organization-Level Factors: Results From a Quantitative Study of Health Professionals

Abstract

Individual innovativeness is particularly indispensable among health professionals. The healthcare environment is complex and its knowledge workers must continually adapt to change and be comfortable with ambiguity. The objective of this study was to determine the relative importance of individual, job-specific, and organizational factors on innovative output of health professionals. Employed Canadian Registered Dietitians (n = 237) completed an online survey incorporating relevant validated tools, including the 10-item Big Five Inventory and the Alberta Context Tool. Factors were classified by level and introduced in blocks to a multivariate linear regression model, with the outcome of self-reported innovative output. Factors included in the model explained 44% of variation in self-reported innovative output. Although all blocks contributed significantly to the model, minimal variation was explained by factors at the job-specific (4%) and organizational levels (4%). Factors at the individual level most predictive of innovative output were role innovation, the personality trait of conscientiousness and voluntary membership in a professional association. To encourage employee innovativeness, health administrators, and managers of health professionals should consider how best to incorporate screens for individual-level indicators of innovative output (eg, personality tests) in their institutional hiring and selection processes.

The impact of organizational culture and leadership climate on organizational attractiveness and innovative behavior: a study of Norwegian hospital employees

“…Increased patient needs and demand for care are pushing health organizations to keep pace with the increasingly challenging health industry and the complexity of offering quality healthcare [1,4]. Employee innovativeness is not only becoming essential for addressing patient needs and demands [5], but also indispensable for a continued expansion and adoption of novel ideas in response to current environmental and market changes [6,7].…”

“…With "healthcare's complex environment and its diverse communities of practice (CoPs)" [5], the role of hospital employees in all categories and their innovative behavior is a key strategic tool in responding to the above challenges [1]. The importance of hospital employees is their knowledge-based patient-oriented expertise [8].…”

“…The importance of hospital employees is their knowledge-based patient-oriented expertise [8]. As hospital employees stand at the front line of patient care, their diverse CoPs require an organizational culture and climate that is conducive to employee innovativeness [1,5,9] to improve organizational performance, service quality delivery, and patient care [9]. Consequently, given their employees critical role, health organizations should strive to promote a culture and climate that fosters employee innovation at work, here termed "individual innovative behavior (IIB)" [10].…”

Why should we strive to let them thrive? Exploring the links between health professionals thriving at work, employee ambidexterity and innovative behavior

“…Initial, and all, contact with the nine homecare service institutions was achieved through the health organizations´ Director of Knowledge and Development (DKD). Although this resulted in no direct contact with health professionals, it was important as to minimize possible in uence on the respondentsá nswers [45]. With the help of DKD, all information about the purpose of the study, the questionnaire, purpose of the study, voluntary participation, anonymity, and consent was forwarded to the health department heads, who then would forward it to their employees.…”

“…In addition, the limitations linked to online surveys are known to include selfselection and shared response bias, owing to the nature of self-report measures. Consequently, as suggested by Hair et al [45], these limitations offer opportunities that the contributions of future studies could bene t from.…”