The Quest For A Comprehensive Model Of Employee Innovative Behavior: The Creativity and Innovation Theory Perspective

Even though there are inter-country value variations among individuals who shared similar national culture, little is known about the impact of such value differences on the employees` innovative behavior. Given these gaps, the present study examined the impact of cultural value orientations on the employees` innovative behavior. Furthermore, despite the propositions of creativity and innovation theory that posits the cumulative antecedent effect of social and personal factors, the simultaneous impact of these factors has been scarcely examined. Thus, the study examines and empirically verified the simultaneous antecedent effect of cultural value orientation (a social factor) and psychological capital (a personal factor) on employees` innovative behavior. The study applies a hierarchical regression model to analyze the survey data that was collected from 370 multicultural employees. The survey data was collected from local and expatriate respondents from six different countries who work in south-east China`s Shenzhen high-tech industrial park. The study indicated that employees` cultural value orientation towards masculinity and psychological capital level has a positive effect on their innovative behavior, whereas the employees` cultural value orientation towards power distance, collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance has a negative effect on their innovative behavior. Psychological capital has a moderation effect on the correlation of cultural value orientation and innovative behavior, except masculinity orientation. Findings of the study have practical importance for multinational companies who hire culturally diverse employees from various countries. The present study findings suggest that employees with high masculinity, high psychological capital, low power distance, low collectivism, and low uncertainty avoidance have high innovative tendencies. Employees with the appropriate cultural orientation and psychological capital are resources that enhance the competitive advantage of their company. Therefore, multinational companies can cope up the stiff competition challenge in the era of globalization by hiring employees with the proper cultural value orientation and psychological capital that predicts their innovative behavior.