Discovering how managing and using external work contacts by individual employees influence the innovative work behavior of individual employees. A qualitative study
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2021-04-29
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en
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Abstract
This study aims to determine how managing and using external work contacts by individual employees affect the innovative work behavior of individual employees in an organizational climate.
The objective of this research lead to the following research question: ‘’ How does using and managing external work contacts by individual employees in an organizational climate contribute to the IWB of individual employees?’’
To answer the research question, the research approach consists of conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews with five employees and five managers of five different hosting companies (cases) in The Netherlands. The obtained data is analyzed and coded using the template analysis (i.e., between the inductive and deductive research approach).
The results reveal that the use of external work contacts positively influences the innovative work behavior of the individual employees. The external work contacts are used in the different stages of innovative work behavior and enhance the innovativeness of individual employees.
The study also found that the organizational climate can be used to influence the use of external work contacts, which in turn influence the innovative work behavior of individual employees.
The results of this study provide individual employees insight into how external work contacts could be used to enhance their innovative work behavior, and how managers can create an organizational climate that supports the use of external work contacts.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen