What contributes to individual innovativeness? A multilevel perspective

Abstract

It is well-established that individual innovativeness is an indispensable quality for employees working in a variety of workplace environments. However, the interaction between the psychological and organizational factors influencing innovativeness remains unclear. This study seeks to address that research gap by examining a model comprising a mix of psychological factors (implicit theory and goal orientation) and organizational culture. Data were collected from 315 staff members working in 34 different departments/schools at Tampere University, Finland. The study employed a Bayesian multilevel path analysis that matched the hierarchical structure of the data to test the hypotheses. The results suggest that psychological factors reflecting goal orientation are the most important for interpreting individual innovativeness. Specifically, mastery goal orientation was shown to be a positive predictor and performance-approach goal orientation a negative predictor of innovativeness. Unexpectedly, departmental culture had neither a direct effect on innovativeness nor a moderation effect on the relationships between the psychological variables and innovativeness. Plausible explanations for these results and implications for future research are discussed. Keywords: Innovativeness, Organizational culture, Goal orientation, Implicit theory, Higher education, Innovation, Bayesian approach, Multilevel path analysis, Mindset, Staff, JEL classification: O3, I23