Innovation in the Public Sector: Insights into the Job Design that Enhances Public Servants’ Innovative Behavior

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the distinct role of every core job characteristic for public servants’ innovative behavior, taking also into consideration the type of job position (front-line versus back-office). Evidence from 358 Greek public servants suggests that autonomy, task significance, feedback from the job itself, and skill variety do significantly impact employee innovative behavior. Moreover, significant differences regarding these relationships between front-line and back office public servants were revealed, as the former’s innovative behavior is mostly affected by skill variety while the latter’s by task significance. In addition, feedback and skill variety affects only the innovative behavior of Greek front-line public servants. Practical implications focus on redesigning jobs, as a means for improving innovative behavior in public organizations.

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