Abstract

     Organisations need to be innovative to be able to face the complexity and turbulence of the environmental forces and factors surrounding them. This is true in the case of all types of organisations, including SMEs, where innovations are essential for their survival and growth. As such, organisations need to nurture Innovative Work Behaviour (IWB) among their employees through different means. To achieve such ultimate goal, Workplaces Employees Learning can benefit many companies. Meanwhile, Workplace Learning (WPL) can improve the competencies and skills of employees and help their IWB. This research focuses on the role of WPL as a predictor of IWB among knowledge workers of SMEs in developing countries (i.e. Pakistan). Through convenient sampling technique, questionnaires were distributed among employees of 173 SMEs, resulting in 311 useable questionnaires. Data were analysed using Smart-PLS 3. The results indicated that WPL facilitated IWB among SME employees, with informal and incidental learning being the most critical predictors compared to formal means of learning. The research results reinforce the importance of WPL and IWB, and their implications are beneficial for SMEs and the academic society.

Introduction

     Due to the increased uncertainty of business environments, greater competition and technological advancement, prearranged behaviours and formalised procedures cannot yield anticipated results (Alfy & Naithani, 2021). Organisations, therefore, need to be innovative to respond to the abrupt shifts in their business environment (Alfy & Naithani, 2021; Katz, 1964). Employee-driven innovations can help organization to differentiate itself from its rivals and achieve competitive advantage (Alfy & Naithani, 2021). Innovative Work Behaviour (IWB) refers to the contribution of individuals and groups in the organizations to introduce novel services/products, task, or work-related ideas to contribute to the overall innovativeness and produces desirable outcomes (Farrukh et al., 2021). IWB is of utmost importance for gaining a competitive advantage in the face of the rapidly changing and uncertain business environment. IWB aims to advance the organization’s overall effectiveness and efficiency and its practices (Pukienė, ۲۰۱۶). IWB is important as employees are the primary source of innovation in any organisation; their innovativeness will work towards the organisation’s success as a whole (Abstein & Spieth, 2014). Keeping in view the importance of IWB, organisations need to nurture innovative behaviour among their employees to prosper and survive in contemporary competitive environment.

Conclusion and Recommendations

     Overall, it could be claimed that research has achieved its objective and found that WPL does nurture IWB among knowledge workers of small businesses. In this regard, informal learning and incidental learning were found to be more significant predictors of IWB than formal learning.

     Regardless of the practical research implications, it is subject to some limitations. First, this research was based on data collected from SMEs located in two country provinces; future research should attempt to investigate a more detailed sample based on the SMEs located in multiple country locations. Second, a more detailed study investigating the three forms of WPL in more depth should be attempted to enrich the understanding of the subject matter. Third, it could be of greater interest if future research could investigate individual differences, i.e. gender, personality factors and their role in shaping the role of WPL as a facilitator of IWB. Finally, further research is required to investigate the role of individual factors and organisational variables concerning IWB within the context of small businesses in Pakistan to further the discussion related to the antecedents of IWB in developing countries and small businesses.