Innovative Work Behaviors: Role of Employee Engagement & Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

Innovative work behavior (IWB) is crucial in constantly changing business environments. Hence, the study utilized the broaden-and build theory and explored the relationships among employee engagement (EE), two dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and IWB, a gap identified in past studies. The study utilized 450 participants drawn from 3 sectors of the Nigerian economy. Results show that EE is positively related to the two dimensions of OCB, and IWB. The two dimensions of OCB partially mediated the relationship between EE and IWB. The study established EE as a critical variable in enhancing OCB and achieving high IWB in employees, and also recommended that organizations will benefit from investments made to build the level of employee engagement.