Innovative work behavior scale: definition and measure

Janssen (2000) defined innovative work behavior as employees intentionally creating, introducing, and applying new ideas in their job, team, or organization to improve outcomes. The scale has 9 items, split evenly across the three stages of innovation: idea generation, idea promotion, and idea realization. It is a widely used measure of innovative behavior, often a dependent variable in studies on transformational leadership, psychological empowerment, and knowledge sharing, for example Nguyen et al. (2020) with Vietnamese telecommunications employees.

Comparing the scales

Items of each scale

Original English wording from the published source. Replace placeholders such as [system] or [brand] with what your study is about, and pilot the questionnaire with 20 to 30 respondents first.

Idea Generation (IG) · Innovative work behavior scale

Code	Item
IG1	Creating new ideas for difficult issues.
IG2	Searching out new working methods, techniques, or instruments.
IG3	Generating original solutions for problems.

Source: Janssen (2000). Response scale, licence and APA reference: Innovative work behavior scale.

Use in the survey kit Open all of Innovative work behavior scale (3 constructs)

Idea Promotion (IP) · Innovative work behavior scale

Code	Item
IP1	Mobilizing support for innovative ideas.
IP2	Acquiring approval for innovative ideas.
IP3	Making important organizational members enthusiastic for innovative ideas.

Source: Janssen (2000). Response scale, licence and APA reference: Innovative work behavior scale.

Use in the survey kit

Idea Realization (IR) · Innovative work behavior scale

Code	Item
IR1	Transforming innovative ideas into useful applications.
IR2	Introducing innovative ideas into the work environment in a systematic way.
IR3	Evaluating the utility of innovative ideas.

Source: Janssen (2000). Response scale, licence and APA reference: Innovative work behavior scale.

Use in the survey kit

Tips

• The scale is a 7-point frequency scale (how often you do this), not a level of agreement.
• The three stages are very highly correlated; many studies combine the 9 items into one variable. If you separate them, check HTMT.
• Employee self-ratings are prone to bias; if possible, have supervisors rate, or test for common method bias.
• A common model: leadership or knowledge sharing affecting innovative work behavior.

Once you have a scale, put the concept in the research model drawer to state your hypotheses, work out the minimum sample size, and after data collection check reliability with the Cronbach's alpha calculator.

Frequently asked questions

What stages does innovative work behavior include?

Three stages according to Janssen (2000): idea generation, idea promotion (seeking support), and idea realization (putting it into use).

Should I measure one variable or three?

Most studies combine them into one variable because the three stages are highly correlated. Separate them when you have different hypotheses for each stage.

Which variables usually affect innovative work behavior?

Transformational leadership, psychological empowerment, knowledge sharing, organizational support, and intrinsic motivation.

References

• Janssen, O. (2000). Job demands, perceptions of effort-reward fairness and innovative work behaviour. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73(3), 287–302. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317900167038
• Nguyen, T. P. L., Tran, N. M., Doan, X. H., & Nguyen, V. H. (2020). The impact of knowledge sharing on innovative work behavior of Vietnam telecommunications enterprises employees. Management Science Letters, 10, 53–62. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2019.8.016