IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/adi/ijbess/v7y2025i3p134-142.html

The mediating role of perceived organizational support on psychological safety in the workplace and its relationship with innovative work behaviour context of a South African manufacturing company

Author

Listed:
  • Kabelo Nonyana

    (Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria West Campus, South Africa.)

  • Mphoreng M. Mmako

    (Tshwane University of Technology)

  • Thulani B. Skosana

    (Tshwane University of Technology)

Abstract

Amid the dynamic manufacturing landscape of the modern world, innovation remains key in fostering competitiveness and growth. Whereas psychological safety has been proven to be an inducer of innovative work behaviour (IWB), fewer studies have probed the mechanism through which this is achieved, particularly in emerging economies. Addressing this literature gap, the current study examines the mediating effect of perceived organisational support (POS) between psychological safety and innovative work behaviour in a South African manufacturing company. We adopted a quantitative cross-sectional design, where data were collected from 423 employees with the help of reliable and validated measures. Data were analysed using STATA version 17, and all the respondents were collected with the help of a structured, closed-ended questionnaire. The results indicate that perceived organisational support plays a partial mediating role in the association of psychological safety with innovative work behaviour. In other words, perceived organisational support enhances the positive effect of psychological safety on employees' inclination to innovate, which highlights its strategic significance. This study contributes to the organisational behaviour field by unpacking the indirect role of POS in the safety–innovation relationship and offers practical implications for HR practitioners and leadership. Organisations are encouraged to create inclusive feedback systems, reward the contributions of employees, and infuse support mechanisms into workplace culture to release employee innovation and build adaptive capacity in competitive environments. Key Words:Innovative Ideas, Manufacturing Company, Organisations, Psychological Safety, South Africa

Suggested Citation

  • Kabelo Nonyana & Mphoreng M. Mmako & Thulani B. Skosana, 2025. "The mediating role of perceived organizational support on psychological safety in the workplace and its relationship with innovative work behaviour context of a South African manufacturing company," International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy (2687-2293), Bussecon International Academy, vol. 7(3), pages 134-142, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:adi:ijbess:v:7:y:2025:i:3:p:134-142
    DOI: 10.36096/ijbes.v7i3.842
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.bussecon.com/ojs/index.php/ijbes/article/view/842/476
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://doi.org/10.36096/ijbes.v7i3.842
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.36096/ijbes.v7i3.842?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lei Shen & Xi Zhang & Hongda Liu, 2022. "Digital technology adoption, digital dynamic capability, and digital transformation performance of textile industry: Moderating role of digital innovation orientation," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 2038-2054, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rizvi, Syed Kumail Abbas & Rahat, Birjees & Naqvi, Bushra & Umar, Muhammad, 2024. "Revolutionizing finance: The synergy of fintech, digital adoption, and innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    2. Po‐Sheng Yang & Jin‐Li Hu, 2026. "Intersections Between Digital Innovation and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence From Listed Electronics Companies in Taiwan," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(2), pages 2705-2736, March.
    3. Deheng Xiao & Can Zhang & Yongjian Huang, 2024. "Digital economy policy and enterprise digital transformation: Evidence from innovation and structural effect," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(4), pages 2348-2359, June.
    4. Takyi Kwabena Nsiah & Miloslava Chovancová & Bludo George Yaw & Aloysius Sabog, 2025. "Navigating the digital transformation path: The role of digital leadership and technological capability through the dynamic capability model," Management & Marketing, Sciendo, vol. 20(3), pages 48-64.
    5. Khalid Mehmood & Nisbat Ali & Muhammad Usman & Aamir Suhail & Kehkashan Siddiqui, 2026. "Empowering sustainable entrepreneurship through data-driven innovation: A pathway to ESG performance in SMEs," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-25, March.
    6. Bai, Dongbei & Li, Meng & Wang, Yongqi & Mallek, Sabrine & Shahzad, Umer, 2024. "Impact mechanisms and spatial and temporal evolution of digital economy and green innovation: A perspective based on regional collaboration within urban agglomerations," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    7. Yu, Mengyan & Umair, Muhammad & Oskenbayev, Yessengali & Karabayeva, Zhаnsaya, 2023. "Exploring the nexus between monetary uncertainty and volatility in global crude oil: A contemporary approach of regime-switching," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    8. Lu, Di & Miao, Xiaoming & Wang, Yi, 2026. "Breakthrough innovation, digital transformation, and firms' long-term competitiveness," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    9. Marcin Suder & Rafał Kusa & Joanna Duda & Jarosław Karpacz, 2025. "Exploring impact of entrepreneurial orientation on firm performance – moderators’ variability under changing market conditions," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 797-842, March.
    10. Rima H. Binsaeed & Zahid Yousaf & Adriana Grigorescu & Raluca Andreea Trandafir & Abdelmohsen A. Nassani, 2023. "Knowledge Sharing and the Moderating Role of Digital Innovation on Employees Innovative Work Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-14, July.
    11. Hongzhang Chen & Suchen Ai & Xiancheng Xiong & Dawei Feng, 2025. "Big data analytics and corporate financing constraints: Evidence from a developing country," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(4), pages 2224-2236, June.
    12. Zhao Xicang & Muhammad Bilal & Wu Jiying & Jan Muhammad Sohu & Sadaf Akhtar & Muhammad Itzaz Ul Hassan, 2024. "Unraveling the Factors Influencing Digital Transformation and Technology Adoption in High-Tech Firms: The Moderating Role of Digital Literacy," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(4), pages 21582440241, November.
    13. Qing Zhou & Zhengyi Wu & Wenchong Chen & Wenqing Chen & Yao Liang, 2024. "Two‐sided networks coordination for manufacturing technology standards' diffusion from home to host countries: A one‐leader and multiple‐followers Stackelberg game with multiple objectives," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(4), pages 2108-2129, June.
    14. Wei Tang & Shuili Yang, 2023. "Enterprise Digital Management Efficiency under Cloud Computing and Big Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-17, August.
    15. Siyue Zhang & Jiangtao Hong & Kwok Hung Lau & Yu Tian, 2026. "How digital transformation enhances supply chain resilience and organisational performance: a digital affordance perspective," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 359(3), pages 2795-2828, April.
    16. Lin, Qin, 2025. "A meta-analytic investigation of digital transformation: Antecedents, consequences, and contingencies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    17. Dwivedi, Yogesh K. & Balakrishnan, Janarthanan & Das, Ronnie & Dutot, Vincent, 2023. "Resistance to innovation: A dynamic capability model based enquiry into retailers’ resistance to blockchain adaptation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    18. Maria Siddique & Numair Ahmed Sulehri, 2026. "Digital transformation and responsible production-consumption: the mediating roles of green innovation and organizational learning, and the moderating effect of leadership agility in Pakistan’s textile industry," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.
    19. Guo, Min & Wang, Jingbei & Liu, Hui & Zhai, He, 2025. "Analyzing the role of digital technology to enhance firms’ green innovation resilience: A moderated mediation model," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    20. Ruan, Shuai & Wan, Guofeng & Le, Xilin & Zhang, Shanshan & Yu, Chao, 2023. "Combining the role of the banking sector and natural resource utilization on green economic development: Evidence from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:adi:ijbess:v:7:y:2025:i:3:p:134-142. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Umit Hacioglu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ibihutr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.