Effect of Behavioral Drivers on Service Innovativeness in Education Industry

Abstract

Innovation is a fundamental requisite for organizations to achieve long-term viability. An organization with good potential to generate new ideas and implement them into practice have a better chance to survive in today’s intense market conditions. While relevant literature highlights the importance of leaders’ behavior, their traits toward subordinates, and employees’ own behaviors in order to sustain innovativeness, evidence linking specific behavior attributes of the leader with service innovativeness is scant. There is also a shortage of empirical studies regarding the impact of employees’ pertinence on innovativeness of the organization. By integrating theories of a leader’s behavior, perceptions of psychological empowerment, and employee’s intrinsic motivation, we tested their effect on service innovativeness of an organization. The designed questionnaire for this paper was distributed to educators at educational service providing organizations. An analysis of the gathered data indicates that leaders initiating structure and consideration behavior, and autonomy of employees have a positive relationship with innovativeness. In addition, the moderation effect of meaning perception of psychological empowerment on the relationship between the leader’s consideration behavior and innovativeness was observed. The paper offers insights into the effects of leaders’ behavior and traits toward their employees on innovativeness. It also sets out practical implications, based on the results of the study, that may help businesses in education service sectors to create workplace environment with encouragement to innovate.