Building innovative employees: the influence of psychological safety, psychological capital, and intrinsic motivation in the banking sector

This study examines how psychological safety and psychological capital influence innovative work behaviour among commercial bank employees in Ho Chi Minh City, with intrinsic motivation positioned as an internal motivational mechanism. It addresses the limited evidence on employee innovative behaviour in the Vietnamese banking sector. A mixed-method design was employed. Measurement scales were refined through expert consultation and pilot testing, and 305 valid questionnaires from employees of state-owned and private commercial banks were analysed. The proposed relationships were tested using PLS-SEM with a two-stage approach because psychological capital was modelled as a higher-order construct comprising self-efficacy, hope, resilience, and optimism. The results indicate that psychological safety positively affects psychological capital and innovative work behaviour. Psychological capital positively influences intrinsic motivation and innovative work behaviour, while intrinsic motivation also has a positive effect on innovative work behaviour. In addition, psychological capital and the sequential path through psychological capital and intrinsic motivation jointly mediate the relationship between psychological safety and innovative work behaviour. This study provides a more integrated explanation of innovative work behaviour in banking and extends evidence from an under-researched emerging-market context, offering practical insights for fostering psychologically safe and motivating work environments in Vietnamese banks.