Employee innovation to promote employee engagement

Abstract

Employee innovation as a form of employee engagement is affected by numerous organizational factors and personal employee attributes. This study modeled the system of factors impacting the manifestation of employee innovation. Additionally, this model evaluates the achievement of engagement and impact on the competitive advantage as a result of employee innovation. A questionnaire for psychometric indicators was provided to two government owned production maintenance groups at the same naval base. Using structural equation modeling with latent variables, this study collected 190 survey responses to measured indicators for innovation, formal devices, relationships, self-efficacy, and motivations. Additionally, historical data was collected to measure indicators for engagement and perceived competitiveness. This study supports innovation as method for achieving employee engagement with a positive, significant direct effect between the latent variables. The chosen metrics for perceived competitiveness indicators did not hold strong correlations and further analysis resulted in indeterminant effects of innovation on performance metrics. This study confirmed the presence of previous factors found impactful to employee innovation, but with further analysis on the direct and indirect relationships within the system. Organizational factors such as formal devices and relationships did not have a direct impact on innovation and are mediated by intrinsic attributes such as self-efficacy and motivations. These intrinsic attributes have a significant impact on innovation and are mediated by the presence of formal challenges within the workplace. Furthermore, control mediates the effect of formal devices on the first step of the innovation process specifically, idea generation. The use of organizational factors in pursuit of employee innovation is achieved through the realization of employees' personal intrinsic attributes of self-efficacy and motivation.