Innovative behaviour of knowledge workers and social exchange attributes of financial incentive: implications for knowledge management

Abstract

Purpose Enhancing the innovative behaviour of knowledge workers is a main task in knowledge management. The pay-for-performance policy is one of the management practices for innovative behaviour enhancement and has been gaining popularity in the knowledge-intensive context. However, it is still uncertain whether such practice really enhances the innovative behaviour of knowledge workers. To address this issue, this paper aims to propose and verify a conceptual framework incorporating kernel notions of social exchange, psychological empowerment and work engagement rooted in the social cognition paradigm. Design/methodology/approach The current study conducts a survey on 608 knowledge workers and their supervisors, validating the model structure and causal path pattern of the proposed framework. The causality is delineated from social exchange attributes of financial incentive, psychological empowerment and work engagement to innovative behaviour of knowledge workers. Findings Perceived organisational support and perceived pay equity are primary antecedents of symbolic incentive meaning reflected in the financial incentive of the pay-for-performance policy. Symbolic incentive meaning comprising dimensions of relative position, control and personal importance relates positively to innovative behaviour of knowledge workers. Psychological empowerment and work engagement are partial mediators of the positive relationship. Originality/value The current study explicates why and how social exchange attributes of the financial incentive provided by the pay-for-performance policy may enhance innovative behaviour of knowledge workers. Implications are supplied to knowledge management scholars and practitioners to optimise the pay-for-performance policy for innovative behaviour enhancement.

Top-down knowledge hiding and innovative work behavior (IWB): a three-way moderated-mediation analysis of self-efficacy and local/foreign status

“…In the dynamic and increasingly competitive business environment, persistent pursuit of innovation, which includes generation, dissemination, and implementation of a new idea (Allameh, 2018;Liao and Chun, 2016), has become crucial for organizations to sustain their competitive advantage (Tsai, 2018). Employees' IWB and creativity have been used interchangeably in the literature (Hirst et al, 2009;Unsworth and Clegg, 2010), but IWB is a broader concept because it encompasses more than idea generation, which mainly involves creativity; it is a combination of idea generation, dissemination, and implementation (Yidong and Xinxin, 2013).…”

Determinants of Employee Innovative Behavior in Thai Real Estate Companies

“…Work engagement is the construction of absolute energy, strong resilience, and diligence to get work done (vigor), the sense of enthusiasm, passion and pride about the work (dedication) and full attention, total obsession, and deep immersion in work activities (absorption) (Griffin et al, 2008;Sahoo and Sahu, 2009). Tsai (2018), also found a positive relationship between innovativeness and the three dimensions of work engagement.…”

“…Innovative behavior evolves from the favorable interpretation of symbolic incentive meaning, which results in creative and innovative performance (Kosfeld et al, 2017). Psychological empowerment and work engagement influence socio-psychological outcomes, which illustrates the positive relationship between symbolic incentive meaning and employees' innovative behavior (Tsai, 2018). Thus, the following hypotheses are proposed.…”

“…Also, innovative behavior requires a high level of work engagement to generate and implement novel ideas. The components of work engagement, vigor, dedication and absorption, exert innovative behavior enhancement (Tsai, 2018).…”

A Mediating Effect on ERP KM Model for the Performance of Oil and Gas Sector in Klang Valley: A Preliminary Study

“…To optimize pay base for performance, organizations need to comprehend the meaning of incentives that are vital factors for constructing decisions. The initial step towards achieving this objective is to make the management of the operations that can support and fairly take into account the views of subordinates in the whole organization so that knowledgeable employees are aware that the organization is supporting their daily work activities adequately and recompense their hard work legitimately [29].…”