Organizational and Personal Factors That Boost Innovation: The Case of Nurses during COVID-19 Pandemic Based on Job Demands-Resources Model

Abstract

Since 2019, the world has been experiencing a pandemic period due to the COVID-19 virus, which has brought the need for organizations in general, healthcare organizations and their professionals in particular, to focus on innovation as a way to fight an utterly unknown virus. Thus, this study aims to understand how nurses and their personal factors (stress, anxiety, work engagement, organizational support) impact their innovative behaviour and innovation outputs, contributing to innovation in the current pandemic period through changes in thoughts, values, behaviours and relationships among healthcare professionals and their organizations. For this purpose, the Job Demands-Resources model was used as a reference, and the measurement instrument was applied to 738 nurses working in healthcare units in Portugal. Therefore, it was found that the nurses’ personal factors have a positive effect on the nurses’ innovative behaviour and innovation outputs, with the innovative behaviour having the most significant impact on innovation outputs, which will benefit healthcare organizations and the healthcare provided to patients during the pandemic, through innovative behaviours and products. It is also possible to understand how the available resources and the demands imposed on nurses interfere with their innovative behaviour (Job Demands-Resources model).

Chinese nurses' innovation capacity: The influence of inclusive leadership, empowering leadership and psychological empowerment

“…In Australia, the implementation of an innovative nurse‐led care model increased compliance with nutritional management guidelines for patients with head and neck cancer, improved nutritional status and treatment completion rates and reduced unplanned hospital admissions as well as care‐related costs (Findlay et al, 2020). Another cross‐sectional survey of frontline nurses in Portugal showed that innovative behaviours and products improved care for patients during the COVID‐19 (Moreno Cunha et al, 2022).…”

PERMA well-being and innovative work behaviour : A systematic literature review

“… 55 , 57 , 66 , 71 Two articles provided evidence that IWB in the service sector is positively impacted by engagement. 47 , 72 Additionally, scholars did not discover a significant link between the positive emotion factor and IWB in the service industry, particularly in the hotel industry. 3 , 54 , 67 …”

“…What is interesting in Figure 3 is the growth of articles in 2019 to 2020 are contributed by scholars from European Union countries with seven articles altogether. 47 , 58 , 61 , 62 , 65 – 67 The increasing number of papers from European Union countries is contributed by the objective of EU2020 strategy which is to develop the European economy based on research and development (R&D), knowledge and innovation. 68…”

The Impact of Organizational Support on Nurse Work Performance Mediated by Mental Health During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…There are other studies that are similar and support this hypothesis. Cunha & Marques (2022) stated that personal factors, including organizational support, can have a positive impact on the innovation outcomes and innovative behavior of nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic. Another similar study is the study by Shabbir et al (2021) which states that good organizational support, together with organizational justice, will result in good work performance for bank employees during the Covid-19 pandemic.…”