Innovation energy: The stimulus converting employees' innovation properties into innovative work behaviour

Anticipating the post-Covid-19 period, the need for innovation remains urgent, with the innovative work behaviour (IWB) exhibited by employees being a crucial aspect. Since Scott and Bruce (1994) wrote about this behaviour, many IWB-related factors have been found. In this study, we distinguished various employees' personal innovation properties as IWB-related factors: creativity, psychological empowerment, optimism and work-contextual factors like room for autonomy, leadership, multidisciplinary innovative teamwork and external contacts. In our qualitative research within two innovative Dutch companies (Philips and Topicus), we interviewed 49 employees, most with a high degree of IWB, and their 22 managers to uncover the relation between the factors and IWB. Earlier research provided rich information about IWB and its factors, mostly from an organizational viewpoint. Our research focuses on the employees themselves, who are showing IWB. We assumed at the start of our research that in addition to these factors, there must be an overall energetic stimulus, because innovation is a process with many obstacles. Therefore, we introduce the concept of innovation energy, which converts employees' innovation properties into innovative work behaviour. This outcome can be used in further research and in the managerial and HRM practice.