社会―政治的要因が組織における個人イノベーションに与える影響に関する研究

──他者志向のモチベーションの視点から──

抄録

 The present study aims to test the effect of politics on individual innovation. It is known that individual innovation consists of several phases. Scholars have regarded organizational culture as a factor that connects the phases in individual innovation. Although organizational culture has been identified as an organization-level factor, politics as an individual-level factor has not been tested in previous studies. The present study regards politics as an individual-level factor. This research makes progress toward addressing the lack of previous analyses of the impact of politics on individual innovation. Few studies have addressed the possibility that politics with other-oriented motivation may moderate the relationship between idea generation and idea implementation.

 Drawing on social-political perspectives and altruism theory, the present study proposes that the relationship between idea generation and idea implementation is enhanced by politics and other-oriented motivation. Politics enables ideas to gain resources and power for implementation. Other-oriented motivation encourages employees to engage in risky political behavior by promoting a preference for making social contributions.

 Data was collected from a sample of 225 R&D workers employed by a large manufacturing company in western Japan. These workers are constantly required to generate and implement new ideas, products, processes, and services. The data set is used to test a three-way interaction model between idea generation, political behavior, and prosocial motivation toward idea implementation.

 It was found that political behavior and other-oriented motivation moderate the relationship between idea generation and idea implementation. Furthermore, it was found that political behavior and other-oriented motivation are not the sole moderators of the relationship between idea generation and idea implementation. Given these findings, it is suggested that R&D workers display higher levels of idea implementation when they engage in political behavior and experience other-oriented motivation simultaneously.

 Modified resources from others were not assessed in the present model. The effect of modified resources from others should be investigated in future research.