Innovative behaviors and psychological well-being: validation of the "Content innovation behaviors" instrument

Abstract

The study of individual innovation in organizational contexts has a short history, although the available literature shows ¡tis a frecuent behaviour shared by many workers (West, 1989). Studies related to personal innovation higlight its importance both for the organization and the employees. Innovative behaviours can contribute to the improvement of work organizations. An association between innovative behavior and work satisfaction and psychological well-being has also been suggested.

The present study has two aims. On one hand, the objective is to validate the “Enhancing strategies content innovation” questionnaire (Whitely, 1987; WOSY, 1989) in a sample of shop-floor workers in the ceramics industry. On the other, it also aims at exploring the relationship between innovation and indicators of mental health such as anxiety, depression and satisfaction. Our results partially support a positive relationship between content innovation and psychological well-being.