Unlocking Effects Of Psychological Mechanisms Enhancing Innovative Work Behavior

Abstract

Being innovative is manifestation of the interaction between individual perceptions and an external universe, and the psychological underpinnings which shape it are extremely intricate. It is fundamentally a personal choice, a function of the underlying psychological processes and has increasingly gained acceptance as an important aspect for fair understanding of ways to help in sustaining employees with their innovative approach. This review explores the psychology of why individuals choose to behave innovatively, despite the challenges involved. It also examines the mechanism through which the psychological processes buffer the negative impact of innovative work behavior. This paper integrates a wide-ranging preceding literature on psychological perspective of innovative behavior in terms of motivation (intrinsic motivation, creative self-efficacy) and affect (moods and emotions) in one schema. It throws light on discrepancies in the literature besides providing future prospects of research.