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Innovation at the workplace: Do professional competencies matter?

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  • Vila, Luis E.
  • Pérez, Pedro J.
  • Coll-Serrano, Vicente

Abstract

This paper analyzes individuals' propensity to innovate in professional environments, by focusing on the specific competency profile of individuals who play a role in the incorporation of product, technological, and knowledge innovations at work. The analysis draws on economic and managerial literature on innovation, innovative behavior, and competencies to gain a better understanding of the relationships between the process of competency development and innovative behavior in working environments. Using data from REFLEX, a European survey on the transition from higher education to labor markets, the empirical component of this study estimates discrete response models to explain the propensity of individuals to innovate at work. The models take the responses to a set of 19 questionnaire items as the basis for determining individuals' competency profiles, while also incorporating firm, working environment, and personal characteristics. The estimation results provide evidence of significant marginal effects of specific competencies on the probability that individuals act as innovators at the workplace. Competencies such as alertness to new opportunities, ability to present products, ideas or reports, ability to mobilize the capacities of others, ability to come up with new ideas and solutions, and ability to use computers and the Internet appear to have stronger marginal effects on the likelihood of innovating and, consequently, emerge as key competencies in explaining the propensity of individuals to become innovators in their working environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Vila, Luis E. & Pérez, Pedro J. & Coll-Serrano, Vicente, 2014. "Innovation at the workplace: Do professional competencies matter?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 752-757.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:67:y:2014:i:5:p:752-757
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.11.039
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chen, Chung-Jen & Huang, Jing-Wen, 2009. "Strategic human resource practices and innovation performance -- The mediating role of knowledge management capacity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 104-114, January.
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    1. Chris C. Gernreich, 2018. "What Employees Really Want: Demands For Individual Idea Development," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(08), pages 1-28, December.
    2. Carmen Delia Davila Quintana & José-Ginés Mora & Pedro Jose Perez Vazquez & Luis Eduardo Vila Lladosa, 2016. "La cooperación universidad-empresa, instrumento para mejorar las competencias de los egresados," Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación volume 11, in: José Manuel Cordero Ferrera & Rosa Simancas Rodríguez (ed.), Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación 11, edition 1, volume 11, chapter 13, pages 265-282, Asociación de Economía de la Educación.
    3. Ahmad MUKSIN & Bhakti Nur AVIANTO, 2021. "Governance Innovation: One-Stop Integrated Service To Enhance Quality Service And Public Satisfaction," Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 16(1), pages 40-60, February.
    4. Lucía Muñoz-Pascual & Jesús Galende & Carla Curado, 2019. "Human Resource Management Contributions to Knowledge Sharing for a Sustainability-Oriented Performance: A Mixed Methods Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-24, December.
    5. Blázquez, Maite & Herrarte, Ainhoa & Llorente-Heras, Raquel, 2018. "Competencies, occupational status, and earnings among European university graduates," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 16-34.
    6. Lucía Muñoz-Pascual & Carla Curado & Jesús Galende, 2021. "Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis on the Adoption of Environmental Practices: Exploring Technological- and Human-Resource-Based Contributions," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(13), pages 1-21, July.
    7. Curado, Carla & Muñoz-Pascual, Lucía & Galende, Jesús, 2018. "Antecedents to innovation performance in SMEs: A mixed methods approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 206-215.
    8. Vito Manfredi Latilla & Fedrico Frattini & Simone Franzo & Vittorio Chiesa, 2019. "Organisational Change And Business Model Innovation: An Exploratory Study Of An Energy Utility," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(04), pages 1-33, June.
    9. Ediriweera, Amali & Wiewiora, Anna, 2021. "Barriers and enablers of technology adoption in the mining industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    10. Chris C. Gernreich & Sebastian Knop, 2019. "Empowering Creative Employees: Phase-Specific Support In The Front-End Of Innovation," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(08), pages 1-31, December.
    11. Lucía Muñoz-Pascual & Carla Curado & Jesús Galende, 2021. "How does the use of information technologies affect the adoption of environmental practices in SMEs? A mixed-methods approach," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 75-102, January.
    12. Taran Thune & Pål Børing, 2015. "Industry PhD Schemes: Developing Innovation Competencies in Firms?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 6(2), pages 385-401, June.
    13. Lanivich, Stephen E. & Smith, Adam & Levasseur, Ludvig & Pidduck, Robert J. & Busenitz, Lowell & Tang, Jintong, 2022. "Advancing entrepreneurial alertness: Review, synthesis, and future research directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1165-1176.
    14. Sara Isabel Marin-Zapata & Juan Pablo Román-Calderón & Cristina Robledo-Ardila & Maria Alejandra Jaramillo-Serna, 2022. "Soft skills, do we know what we are talking about?," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 969-1000, May.

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