YOU ARE JOKING, RIGHT? — CONNECTING HUMOUR TYPES TO INNOVATIVE BEHAVIOUR AND INNOVATION OUTPUT

Pia Hurmelinna-Laukkanen, Kwadwo Atta-Owusu () and Eeva-Liisa Oikarinen ()
Additional contact information
Pia Hurmelinna-Laukkanen: University of Oulu, Oulu Business School, P. O. Box 4600, FIN-90014 Oulu, Finland
Kwadwo Atta-Owusu: University of Oulu, Oulu Business School, P. O. Box 4600, FIN-90014 Oulu, Finland
Eeva-Liisa Oikarinen: University of Oulu, Oulu Business School, P. O. Box 4600, FIN-90014 Oulu, Finland

International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), 2016, vol. 20, issue 08, 1-22

Abstract: While humour is present in everyday business in practice, its strategic meaning and effectiveness are rarely investigated in relation to innovation processes or their management. In this study, we suggest that different types of humour can have both positive and negative effects on innovative work behaviour and the innovation output of individuals, and that the nature of the effects depends to an extent on whether these types of humour are present in interaction within or across organisational boundaries. Theoretical discussion and empirical evidence derived from a quantitative analysis illustrate the diversity of relationships. The results indicate that while humour is, in general, more relevant for innovation within organizations, it also bears importance with regard to external relationships, especially considering innovative work behaviour. Likewise, generally speaking, aggressive humour has negative connotations while, affiliative, coping, and reframing types of humour are associated with positive undertones. However, these connections are not self-evident. Acknowledging differences helps managers to monitor and encourage the use of humour in varying forms of interaction within and beyond their organisations for creating supportive conditions for innovation.

Keywords: Humour; innovation; innovative work behaviour; innovation output (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1363919616400211
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wsi:ijimxx:v:20:y:2016:i:08:n:s1363919616400211

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from

DOI: 10.1142/S1363919616400211

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim) is currently edited by Joe Tidd

More articles in International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim) from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tai Tone Lim ().