From mechanistic measuring to up-to-date understanding : Problematising the study of innovative work behaviour

Innovation is vital for the survival of organisations. Individual employees are the microfoundations of organisational innovation since it is the individuals who generate new ideas and implement solutions. Individual innovation processes are often studied using the term innovative work behaviour (IWB). The topic is explored in a hermeneutic circle in which answers are sought to whether managerial coaching can enhance IWB; how IWB has been understood and measured; and whether the individual innovation process is similar to how previous literature has conceived it. The overall aim of the thesis is to increase understanding of the individual innovation process and how it should be approached in research and in modern working life. Three data sets are utilised in the quest for answers. 4418 responses from employees in Finnish SMEs comprise the quantitative data set. An article cache of 255 articles is analysed in the integrative literature review. 34 semi-structured interviews at a Finnish MNC make up a single case study. The mixed-methods approach allows for a multifaceted understanding of the phenomenon studied. The thesis makes several important contributions. It highlights that the practice of studying individual innovation processes under the term innovative work behaviour is problematic, and explains reasons for this. It finds that the individual innovation process was last studied in the 1980s and that the measuring instruments used even today are based on these studies. The thesis suggests that the individual innovation process is different today than it was in the 1980s, both in consisting of different activities than before, and in the role of the individual being more active and engaged. In all, the study of IWB has focused on the mechanistic measuring of the effects of various determinants to behaviours using outdated measuring instruments instead of attempting to understand the microfoundations of innovation. The thesis builds new understanding of the individual innovation process and offers focal points for supporting an individual’s innovation efforts in organisations