CSR and Workplace Autonomy as Enablers of Workplace Innovation in SMEs through Employees: Extending the Boundary Conditions of Self-Determination Theory

Beili Li, Xu Fan, Susana Álvarez-Otero, Muhammad Safdar Sial, Ubaldo Comite, Jacob Cherian and László Vasa
Additional contact information
Beili Li: Public Management Institute, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Xu Fan: Public Management Institute, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Susana Álvarez-Otero: Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Oviedo, 33003 Oviedo, Spain
Muhammad Safdar Sial: Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Ubaldo Comite: Department of Business Sciences, University Giustino Fortunato, 82100 Benevento, Italy
Jacob Cherian: College of Business, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 59911, United Arab Emirates
László Vasa: Management Campus, Széchenyi István University, 9026 Győr, Hungary

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: The current business environment characterized by high uncertainty, volatility, and stiff situation of competitiveness that is evident in almost every sector has increased the importance of workplace innovation for contemporary businesses. In this regard, a considerable attention in realizing employees of an organization as a source of innovation is not evident from the existing literature. In this aspect, the current study is an attempt to foster workplace innovation through employees in the SME sector of an emerging economy. In doing so, the authors propose that corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of an SME, along with workplace autonomy, are helpful in creating an environment at the workplace that fosters innovative employee behavior (IEB). Furthermore, the current study also extends the boundary condition of the theory of self-determination by arguing that this theory provides a comprehensive framework to explain employees’ motivation for workplace innovation. The data of the current survey was obtained from the SME sector situated in two large cities of a developing country through a self-administered questionnaire which was then analyzed through structural-equation-modeling (SEM) using the AMOS software. The results confirmed that CSR directly relates to IEB and workplace autonomy mediates this relationship. The study also discusses the implications of this survey for theory and practice.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility; innovative behavior; autonomy; sustainability; SME (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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