Abstract
Employees’ innovative behavior is a crucial catalyst for public organizations’ survival, development, and growth in service quality and problem-solving capabilities. Drawing on the broaden-and-build theory and self-determination theory, we proposed a conceptual model to delineate the dynamic within-person impact of the universal human experience flow on innovative behavior. We tried to disentangle the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions by taking into consideration both job involvement and person-organization fit. We followed 106 public organizational employees’ self-reports on daily flow, job involvement, and innovative behavior at work for two consecutive weeks. Data analyzed via multi-level structural equation modeling revealed that daily flow exerts a positive impact on innovative behavior through job involvement at the within-person level. Such impact is moderated by person-organization fit at the between-person level, indicating a more substantial indirect effect of flow on innovative behavior via job involvement for employees with higher (versus lower) person-organization fit. Taken together, our findings elucidate how and when flow predicts innovative behavior on a daily basis, providing empirical evidence for the role of daily flow at work in facilitating employees’ daily innovative behavior. Theoretical and managerial implications for nurturing employees’ innovative behavior in public organizations are put forward.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets used and analyzed in the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
Afsar, B., Cheema, S., & Bin Saeed, B. (2018). Do nurses display innovative work behavior when their values match with hospitals’ values? European Journal of Innovation Management, 21(1), 157–171. https://doi.org/10.1108/ejim-01-2017-0007
Anderson, N., De Dreu, C. K. W., & Nijstad, B. A. (2004). The routinization of innovation research: A constructively critical review of the state-of-the-science. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 147–173. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.236
Bak, H., Jin, M. H., & McDonald, B. D. (2021). Unpacking the transformational leadership-innovative work behavior relationship: The mediating role of psychological capital. Public Performance & Management Review, 45(1), 80–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2021.1939737
Bakker, A. B. (2005). Flow among music teachers and their students: The crossover of peak experiences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 66(1), 26–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2003.11.001
Bakker, A. B. (2008). The work-related flow inventory: Construction and initial validation of the WOLF. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72(3), 400–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2007.11.007
Bauer, D. J., Preacher, K. J., & Gil, K. M. (2006). Conceptualizing and testing random indirect effects and moderated mediation in multilevel models: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 11(2), 142–163. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.11.2.142
Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107(2), 238–246. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238
Bernards, B., van der Voet, J., van der Pas, S., & Groeneveld, S. (2021). Organizational rules and cognitive uncertainty among public professionals: A daily diary study. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 41(4), 792–813. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X20943932
Bozionelos, N. (2004). The big five of personality and work involvement. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 19(1), 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940410520664
Cable, D. M., & DeRue, D. S. (2002). The convergent and discriminant validity of subjective fit perceptions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(5), 875–884. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.5.875
Cable, D. M., & Judge, T. A. (1997). Interviewers’ perceptions of person-organization fit and organizational selection decisions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(4), 546–561. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.82.4.546
Chang, S. Y., & Hsu, H. C. (2022). Validation of the double mediation model of Workplace Well-being on the Subjective Well-Being of Technological employees. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 838723. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.838723
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Beyond boredom and anxiety. Jossey-Bass.
Ćulibrk, J., Delić, M., Mitrović, S., & Ćulibrk, D. (2018). Job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job involvement: The mediating role of job involvement. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 132. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00132
De Vries, H., Bekkers, V., & Tummers, L. (2016). Innovation in the public sector: A systematic review and future research agenda. Public Administration, 94(1), 146–166. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12209
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Plenum.
Dimotakis, N., Ilies, R., & Judge, T. A. (2013). Experience sampling methodology. In Cortina, J. M., & Landis, R. S. (Eds.), Modern research methods for the study of behavior in organizations (pp. 319–348). Routledge.
Edwards, J. R., & Lambert, L. S. (2007). Methods for integrating moderation and mediation: A general analytical framework using moderated path analysis. Psychological Methods, 12(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.12.1.1
Eldor, L., & Harpaz, I. (2019). The nature of learning climate in public administration: A cross-sectorial examination of its relationship with employee job involvement, proactivity, and creativity. The American Review of Public Administration, 49(4), 425–440. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074018804667
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.56.3.218
Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences, 359, 1367–1377. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1512
Fredrickson, B. L. (2013). Positive emotions broaden and build. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 1–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407236-7.00001-2
Fredrickson, B. L., & Joiner, T. (2002). Positive emotions trigger upward spirals toward emotional well-being. Psychological Science, 13(2), 172–175. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00431
Grube, A., Schroer, J., Hentzschel, C., & Hertel, G. (2008). The event reconstruction method: An efficient measure of experience-based job satisfaction. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 81(4), 669–689. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317907x251578
Guillot-Soulez, C., Saint-Onge, S., & Soulez, S. (2022). Green certification and organizational attractiveness: The moderating role of firm ownership. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 29(1), 189–199. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2194
Hackman, J. R., & Lawler, E. E. (1971). Employee reactions to job characteristics. Journal of Applied Psychology, 55(3), 259–286. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0031152
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (1995). Multivariate data analysis: With readings. Prentice Hall.
Hall, D. T., & Mansfield, R. (1971). Organizational and individual response to external stress. Administrative Science Quarterly, 16(4), 533. https://doi.org/10.2307/2391771
Hox, J. J. (2010). Multilevel analysis: Techniques and applications (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Hsu, H. Y., Kwok, O. M., Lin, J. H., & Acosta, S. (2015). Detecting misspecified multilevel structural equation models with common fit indices: A Monte Carlo study. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 50(2), 197–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2014.977429
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
Hu, W., Zhang, S., & Liu, S. (2022). Red tape and community workers’ proactive behavior during COVID-19: Applying the job demands-resources model. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 871025. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.871025
Huang, L. C., Ahlstrom, D., Lee, A. Y. P., Chen, S. Y., & Hsieh, M. J. (2016). High performance work systems, employee well-being, and job involvement: An empirical study. Personnel Review, 45(2), 296–314. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-09-2014-0201
Huang, W., Yuan, C., & Li, M. (2019). Person-job fit and innovation behavior: Roles of job involvement and career commitment. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1134. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01134
Kanungo, R. N. (1982). Measurement of job and work involvement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67(3), 341–349. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.67.3.341
Kaufmann, W., Hooghiemstra, R., & Feeney, M. K. (2018). Formal institutions, informal institutions, and red tape: A comparative study. Public Administration, 96(2), 386–403. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12397
Keller, R. T. (1997). Job involvement and organizational commitment as longitudinal predictors of job performance: A study of scientists and engineers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(4), 539–545. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.82.4.539
Khan, M. M., Mubarik, M. S., Ahmed, S. S., Islam, T., & Khan, E. (2021). Innovation with flow at work: Exploring the role of servant leadership in affecting innovative work behavior through flow at work. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 42(8), 1267–1281. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj-05-2021-0236
Kilroy, S., Flood, P. C., Bosak, J., & Chênevert, D. (2017). Perceptions of high-involvement work practices, person-organization fit, and burnout: A time-lagged study of health care employees. Human Resource Management, 56(5), 821–835. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21803
Kim, M., & Beehr, T. A. (2022). Empowering leadership improves employees’ positive psychological states to result in more favorable behaviors. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 34(10), 2002–2038. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2022.2054281
Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford.
Kucuk, B. A. (2022). Work flow experience in the light of leader-member exchange and person-job fit theories. Psychological Reports, 125(1), 464–497. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294120981927
Liao, P. Y. (2021). Linking proactive personality to well-being: The mediating role of person-environment fit. Sage Open, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211040118
Liu, W., Bakker, A. B., Tse, B. T., & van der Linden, D. (2022). Does playful work design ‘lead to’ more creativity? A diary study on the role of flow. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 31(1), 107–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432x.2022.2104716
Liu, T., Lu, S., Ma, J., & Mao, Y. (2023). Apply your strengths to enjoy flow at work: A diary study on the relationship between strengths use and innovative behavior. Journal of Happiness Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-023-00696-6
Lodahl, T. M., & Kejner, M. (1965). The definition and measurement of job involvement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 49, 24–33. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0021692
Madrid, H. P., Patterson, M. G., Birdi, K. S., Leiva, P. I., & Kausel, E. E. (2014). The role of weekly high-activated positive mood, context, and personality in innovative work behavior: A multilevel and interactional model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(2), 234–256. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1867
Mao, Y., Peng, C., Liang, Y., Yuan, G., Ma, J., & Bonaiuto, M. (2022). The relationship between Perceived Residential Environment Quality (PREQ) and community identity: Flow and social capital as mediators. Social Indicators Research, 163(2), 771–797. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-022-02915-8
Mao, Y., Guo, S., Xie, M., Yu, J., Deng, X., Li, Y., Zhai, Y., & Kong, F. (2023). Devote yourself to enjoy work: A diary study on flow experience and employees’ organizational identification. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 38(5), 338–351. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-07-2022-0355
Miao, Q., Newman, A., Schwarz, G., & Cooper, B. (2017). How leadership and public service motivation enhance innovative behavior. Public Administration Review, 78(1), 71–81. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12839
Mom, T. J. M., van den Bosch, F. A. J., & Volberda, H. W. (2009). Understanding variation in managers’ ambidexterity: Investigating direct and interaction effects of formal structural and personal coordination mechanisms. Organization Science, 20(4), 812–828. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1090.0427
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2012). Mplus user’s guide (7th ed.). Muthén & Muthén.
Nicholson-Crotty, S., Nicholson-Crotty, J., & Fernandez, S. (2016). Performance and management in the public sector: Testing a model of relative risk aversion. Public Administration Review, 77(4), 603–614. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12619
Orth, M., & Volmer, J. (2017). Daily within-person effects of job autonomy and work engagement on innovative behaviour: The cross-level moderating role of creative self-efficacy. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 26(4), 601–612. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2017.1332042
Park, S. M., & Word, J. (2012). Driven to service: Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for public and nonprofit managers. Public Personnel Management, 41(4), 705–734. https://doi.org/10.1177/009102601204100407
Park, J., Kim, S., Lim, M., & Sohn, Y. W. (2019). Having a calling on board: Effects of calling on job satisfaction and job performance among South Korean newcomers. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1584. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01584
Paullay, I. M., Alliger, G. M., & Stone-Romero, E. F. (1994). Construct validation of two instruments designed to measure job involvement and work centrality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(2), 224–228. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.79.2.224
Preacher, K. J., & Selig, J. P. (2010). Monte Carlo method for assessing multilevel Mediation: An interactive tool for creating confidence intervals for indirect effects in 1-1-1 multilevel models Retrieved from http://quantpsy.org/. Accessed 23 June 2022.
Qin, X., Huang, M., Johnson, R. E., Hu, Q., & Ju, D. (2017). The short-lived benefits of abusive supervisory behavior for actors: An investigation of recovery and work engagement. Academy of Management Journal, 61(5), 1951–1975. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.1325
Rainey, H. G. (1999). Using comparisons of public and private organizations to assess innovative attitudes among members of organizations. Public Productivity & Management Review, 23(2), 130–149. https://doi.org/10.2307/3380775
Resick, C. J., Baltes, B. B., & Shantz, C. W. (2007). Person-organization fit and work-related attitudes and decisions: Examining interactive effects with job fit and conscientiousness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(5), 1446–1455. https://doi.org/10.1037/00219010.92.5.1446
Rho, E., Jung, J. Y., & Nam, T. (2021). A closer look at what goes wrong: Public employee cynicism and resistance to administrative reform. International Journal of Public Administration, 44(8), 636–647. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2020.1742738
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
Schutte, N. S., & Malouff, J. M. (2020). Connections between curiosity, flow and creativity. Personality and Individual Differences, 152, 109555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.109555
Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (1994). Determinants of innovative behavior: A path model of individual innovation in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 580–607. https://doi.org/10.2307/256701
Singh, M., & Sarkar, A. (2012). The relationship between psychological empowerment and innovative behavior: A dimensional analysis with job involvement as mediator. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 11(3), 127–137. https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000065
Soriano, A., Kozusznik, M. W., Peiró, J. M., & Demerouti, E. (2021). Employees’ work patterns-office type fit and the dynamic relationship between flow and performance. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 70(2), 759–787. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12251
Steiger, J. H., & Lind, J. C. (1980). Statistically based tests for the number of common factors. Iowa.
Stollberger, J., & Debus, M. E. (2020). Go with the flow, but keep it stable? The role of flow variability in the context of daily flow experiences and daily creative performance. Work and Stress, 34(4), 342–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2019.1695293
Straatmann, T., Königschulte, S., Hattrup, K., & Hamborg, K. C. (2017). Analysing mediating effects underlying the relationships between P-O fit, P-J fit, and organisational commitment. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(12), 1533–1559. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2017.1416652
Sun, S., Wang, N., Zhu, J., & Song, Z. (2020). Crafting job demands and employee creativity: A diary study. Human Resource Management, 59(6), 569–583. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22013
Van Vianen, A. E. M., Shen, C. T., & Chuang, A. (2010). Person-organization and person-supervisor fits: Employee commitments in a Chinese context. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32(6), 906–926. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.726
Vila-Vázquez, G., Castro-Casal, C., & Álvarez-Pérez, D. (2021). Person-organization fit and helping behavior: How and when this relationship occurs. Current Psychology, 42(5), 3701–3712. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01708-5
Wan, W., Liu, L., Long, J., Fan, Q., & Wu, Y. J. (2021). The bottom-line mentality of leaders in education and training institutions: Where to go for innovation? Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 689840. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.689840
Wang, X., & Shaheryar (2020). Work-related flow: The development of a theoretical framework based on the high involvement HRM practices with mediating role of affective commitment and moderating effect of emotional intelligence. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 564444. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.564444
Xiang, Y. H., & Yuan, R. (2021). Why do people with high dispositional gratitude tend to experience high life satisfaction? A broaden-and-build theory perspective. Journal of Happiness Studies, 22, 2485–2498. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00310-z
Zhang, S. C. (2014). Impact of job involvement on organizational citizenship behaviors in China. Journal of Business Ethics, 120(2), 165–174. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1654-x
Zhou, H., & Yang, Y. (2021). How does employees’ Zhong-Yong thinking improve their innovative behaviours? The moderating role of person–organisation fit. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 34(7), 803–814. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2021.1925103
Zhou, Q., Chen, G., & Liu, W. (2019). Impact of perceived organizational culture on job involvement and subjective well-being: A moderated mediation model. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 47(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.7478
Zubair, A., & Kamal, A. (2015). Work related flow, psychological capital, and creativity among employees of software houses. Psychological Studies, 60(3), 321–331. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-015-0330-x
Funding
The present work was supported by the following funding bodies: The National Social Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 20BZZ079); The National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 71801180, 71871201, and 72271205); The Philosophy and Social Science Foundation of Sichuan Province (Grant No. SCJJ23ND190); The Soft Science Research Project of Sichuan Science and Technology Department Plan (Grant No. 2023JDR0022); The Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province (Grant No. 24NSFSC1389); The Applied Psychology Research Center of Sichuan Province (Grant No. CSXL-22101); The Chengdu Soft Science Research Project (Grant No. 2023-RK00-00098-ZF); The 2022 Graduate Students’ Educational Research Program and the 2023 International Student Education Management Research project issued by Southwest Jiaotong University (Grant Nos. YJG5-2022-Z019 and 23LXSGL06).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors listed have made substantial, direct, and intellectual contributions to the work and approved it for publication.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
This survey has been conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki (1964) and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. All participants have read and agreed to the informed consent document. Their participation was voluntary, allowing them to withdraw at any time without providing a reason and without incurring any costs.
Competing interests
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Peng, C., Yuan, G., Xie, M. et al. The impact of daily flow on employees’ daily innovative behavior: disentangling the within-level mediation effect of job involvement and the cross-level moderation effect of person-organization fit. Curr Psychol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06086-2
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06086-2