This article tests the effects of innovation climate on two major employee attitudes, employee job satisfaction and affective commitment, using 2017 Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) data (n = 83,943). The Australian Public Service (APS) is a suitable context because the APS prioritizes and is concerned with both innovative activities and employee attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction and affective commitment). To develop hypotheses, this study applies insights from different theories, including perceived organizational support (POS), self-determination theory (SDT), empowerment, employee engagement, and job engagement. The empirical results of the structural equation models (along with robustness checks) demonstrate that innovation climate has a statistically significant and positive effect on both job satisfaction and affective commitment and that job satisfaction positively mediates this relationship. For policy makers, these findings suggest an innovation climate can be an important tool to increase employee job satisfaction and commitment.
AbdullaJ.DjebarniR.MellahiK. (2011). Determinants of job satisfaction in the UAE: A case study of the Dubai police. Personnel Review, 40(1), 126–146.
2.
AhmedP. K. (1998). Culture and climate for innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management, 1(1), 30–43.
3.
AliA. A. (2015). Workplace demography and attitudinal outcomes: The role of power, status, and diversity climate within groups, psychology. [Michigan State University. Thesis]
4.
AllenN. J.MeyerJ. P. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63(1), 1–18.
5.
AngleH. L.PerryJ. L. (1981). An empirical assessment of organizational commitment and organizational effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26(1), 1–14.
6.
ArundelA.BlochC.FergusonB. (2019). Advancing innovation in the public sector: Aligning innovation measurement with policy goals. Research Policy, 48(3), 789–798.
7.
AshikaliT.GroeneveldS.KuipersB. (2020). The role of inclusive leadership in supporting an inclusive climate in diverse public sector teams. Review of public personnel administration: 0734371X19899722.
8.
Australian Public Service Commission (APSC). (2004). A history in three acts: Evolution of the public Service act 1999. Australian Public Service Commission.
9.
Australian Public Service Commission (APSC). (2011). State of the Service report 2010-2011: Australian Public Service employee survey results. In Australian Public Service Commission (Ed.), (pp. 1–327). Australian Public Service Commission.
10.
Australian Public Service Commission (APSC). (2012). State of the service report: State of the service series 2011-2012. In Australian Public Service Commission (Ed.), (pp. 1–313). Australian Public Service Commission.
11.
Australian Public Service Commission (APSC). (2017a). 2017 APS employee census. In Australian Public Service Commission (Ed.), (pp. 1–40) Australian Public Service Commission.
12.
Australian Public Service Commission (APSC). (2017b). State of the service report: State of the service series 2016-2017. In Australian Public Service Commission (Ed.), (pp. 1–50). Australian Public Service Commission.
13.
BarleyS. R.KundaG. (1992). Design and devotion: Surges of rational and normative ideologies of control in managerial discourse. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(3), 363–399.
14.
BartholomewD. J.SteeleF.GalbraithJ.MoustakiI. (2008). Analysis of multivariate social science data. CRC press.
15.
BattaglioR. P.BelleN.CantarelliP. (2021). Self-determination theory goes public: Experimental evidence on the causal relationship between psychological needs and job satisfaction. Public Management Review, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2021.1900351
16.
BeauducelA.HerzbergP. Y. (2006). On the performance of maximum likelihood versus means and variance adjusted weighted least squares estimation in CFA. Structural Equation Modeling A Multidisciplinary Journal, 13(2), 186–203.
17.
BollenK. A. (2014). Structural equations with latent variables. John Wiley & Sons.
18.
BorinsS. (2002). Leadership and innovation in the public sector. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 23(8), 467–476.
19.
BorinsS. F. (2014). The persistence of innovation in government. Brookings Institution Press with Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
20.
BoyneG. A. (2002). Concepts and indicators of local authority performance: An evaluation of the statutory frameworks in England and Wales. Public Money & Management, 22(2), 17–24.
21.
BozemanB. (2007). Public values and public interest: Counterbalancing economic individualism. Georgetown University Press.
22.
BrimhallK. C. (2021). Are we innovative? Increasing perceptions of nonprofit innovation through leadership, inclusion, and commitment. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 41(1), 3–24.
23.
BrowneM. W.CudeckR.. 1993. Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In BollenK. A.LongJ. S. (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Sage.
24.
BuchananB. (1974). Building organizational commitment: The socialization of managers in work organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 19(4), 533–546.
25.
ByrneB. M. (2013). Structural equation modeling with Mplus: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Routledge.
26.
CantarelliP.BelardinelliP.BelleN. (2016). A meta-analysis of job satisfaction correlates in the public administration literature. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 36(2), 115–144.
27.
CantwellA. R. (2010). Improving the prediction of commitment and innovative work behavior from climate for innovation perceptions: An application of latent profile analysis. Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Psychology, North Carolina State University (UMI: 3425890).
28.
ChenC. A.BozemanB.BermanE. (2019). The grass is greener, but why? Evidence of employees’ perceived sector mismatch from the US, new zealand, and taiwan. International Public Management Journal, 22, 560–589.
29.
CinarE.TrottP.SimmsC. (2019). A systematic review of barriers to public sector innovation process. Public Management Review, 21(2), 264–290.
30.
CurrivanD. B. (1999). The causal order of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in models of employee turnover. Human Resource Management Review, 9(4), 495–524.
31.
Davis-BlakeA.PfefferJ. (1989). Just a mirage: The search for dispositional effects in organizational research. Academy of Management Review, 14(3), 385–400.
32.
DavisR. S.StazykE. C. (2017). Putting the methodological cart before the theoretical horse? Examining the application of SEM to connect theory and method in public administration research. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 37(2), 202–218.
33.
DemirciogluM. A. (2018). Examining the effects of social media use on job satisfaction in the Australian public service: Testing self-determination theory. Public Performance & Management Review, 41(2), 300–327.
34.
DemirciogluM. A.AudretschD. B. (2017). Conditions for innovation in public sector organizations. Research Policy, 46(9), 1681–1691.
35.
DemirciogluM. A.BermanE. (2019). Effects of the innovation climate on turnover intention in the Australian Public Service. The American Review of Public Administration, 49(5), 614–628.
36.
de VriesH.TummersL.BekkersV.. (2018). The diffusion and adoption of public sector innovations: A meta-synthesis of the literature. Perspectives on Public Management and Governance.
37.
EfratK. (2014). The direct and indirect impact of culture on innovation. Technovation, 34(1), 12–20.
38.
EisenbergerR.FasoloP.Davis-LaMastroV. (1990). Perceived organizational support and employee diligence, commitment, and innovation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75(1), 51–59.
ErtasN. (2015). Turnover intentions and work motivations of millennial employees in federal service. Public Personnel Management, 44(3), 401–423.
41.
FaveroN.BullockJ. B.. (2015). How (not) to solve the problem: An evaluation of scholarly responses to common source bias. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 25(1), 285–308.
42.
FernandezS.MoldogazievT. (2013). Employee empowerment, employee attitudes, and performance: Testing a causal model. Public Administration Review, 73(3), 490–506.
43.
FieldsD. L. (2002). Taking the measure of work: A guide to validated scales for organizational research and diagnosis. SAGE.
44.
FusiF.FeeneyM. K. (2018). Social media in the workplace information exchange, productivity, or waste?The American Review of Public Administration, 48(5), 395–412.
45.
GagnéM.DeciE. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 331–362.
46.
GeorgeB.PandeyS. K. (2017). We know the Yin—But where is the yang? Toward a balanced approach on common source bias in public administration scholarship. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 37(2), 245–270.
47.
GrimmelikhuijsenS. G.FeeneyM. K. (2017). Developing and testing an integrative framework for open government adoption in local governments. Public Administration Review, 77(4), 579–590.
48.
HameduddinT.FernandezS. (2019). Employee engagement as administrative reform: Testing the efficacy of the OPM's employee engagement initiative. Public Administration Review, 79(3), 355–369.
49.
HameduddinT.FernandezS.DemirciogluM. A. (2020). Conditions for open innovation in public organizations: Evidence from challenge.gov. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, 42, 111–131.
50.
HameduddinT.LeeS. (2021). Employee engagement among public employees: Examining the role of organizational images. Public Management Review, 23, 422–446. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.1695879
51.
HarterJ. K.SchmidtF. L.HayesT. L. (2002). Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(2), 268–279.
52.
HaysS. W.SowaJ. E. S. S. I. C. A. E. (2005). Staffing the bureaucracy: Employee recruitment and selection. In CondreyStephen E (Ed.), Handbook of human resource management in government (pp. 97–124). Jossey-Bass.
53.
HoW. H.ChangC. S.ShihY. L.LiangR. D. (2009). Effects of job rotation and role stress among nurses on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. BMC Health Services Research, 9(1), 8–10.
54.
HofstedeG.HofstedeG. J.MinkovM. (2010). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. McGraw-Hill.
55.
Holgado–TelloF. P.Chacón–MoscosoS.Barbero–GarcíaI.Vila–AbadE. (2010). Polychoric versus Pearson correlations in exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of ordinal variables. Quality & Quantity, 44(1), 153–166.
56.
HollimanS. L. (2013). Exploring the effects of empowerment, innovation, professionalism, conflict, and participation on teacher organizational commitment. Ph.D., Graduate College, the University of Iowa (3551998).
57.
HoodC. (2011). The blame game: Spin, bureaucracy, and self-preservation in government. Princeton University Press.
58.
HuckS. W. (2011). Reading statistics and research. Pearson.
59.
HuL.BentlerP. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55.
60.
HurY. (2014). Turnover, voluntary turnover, and organizational performance: Evidence from municipal police departments. Public Administration Quarterly, 37(1), 3–35.
61.
ImT.CampbellJ. W.JeongJ. (2016). Commitment intensity in public organizations: Performance, innovation, leadership, and PSM. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 36(3), 219–239.
62.
JakobsenM.JensenR. (2015). Common method bias in public management studies. International Public Management Journal, 18(1), 3–30.
63.
JarosS. (2007). Meyer and Allen model of organizational commitment: Measurement issues. The ICFAI Journal of Organizational Behavior, 6(4), 7–25.
64.
JohnsonJ. J.McIntyeC. L. (1998). Organizational culture and climate correlates of job satisfaction. Psychological Reports, 82(3), 843–850.
65.
JongJ.FordM. T. (2016). The lagged effects of job demands and resources on organizational commitment in federal government agencies: A multi-level analysis. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 26(3), 475–492.
66.
JudgeT. A.KlingerR. (2008). Job satisfaction: Subjective well-being at work. In EidM. I. C. H. A. E. L.LarsenRandy J (Eds.), The science of subjective well-being (pp. 393–413). The Guilford Press.
67.
JungC. S.RitzA. (2014). Goal management, management reform, and affective organizational commitment in the public sector. International Public Management Journal, 17(4), 463–492.
68.
KattelR.CepilovsA.DrechslerW.KalvetT.LemberV.TõnuristP. (2013). Can we measure public sector innovation? A literature review. LIPSE project paper.
69.
KearneyR. C.HaysS. W. (1994). Labor-management relations and participative decision making: Toward a new paradigm. Public Administration Review, 54(1), 44–51.
70.
KimS.EganT. M.MoonM. J. (2014). Managerial coaching efficacy, work-related attitudes, and performance in public organizations. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 34(3), 237–262.
71.
KimS. Y.FernandezS. (2017). Employee empowerment and turnover intention in the U.S. Federal bureaucracy. The American Review of Public Administration, 47(1), 4–22.
72.
KleinK. J.SorraJ. S. (1996). The challenge of innovation implementation. Academy of Management Review, 21(4), 1055–1080.
73.
KlineR. B. (2016). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). The Guilford Press.
74.
KoysD. J.DeCotiisT. A. (1991). Inductive measures of psychological climate. Human Relations, 44(3), 265–285.
75.
KurtessisJ. N.EisenbergerR.FordM. T.BuffardiL. C.StewartK. A.AdisC. S. (2017). Perceived organizational support: A meta-analytic evaluation of organizational support theory. Journal of Management, 43(6), 1854–1884.
76.
LangbeinL.StazykE. C. (2018). The anatomy of retention in the US federal government: Exit, voice, or money?International Public Management Journal, 21(1), 33–52.
77.
LangerJ.FeeneyM. K.LeeS. E. (2019). Employee fit and job satisfaction in bureaucratic and entrepreneurial work environments. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 39(1), 135–155.
78.
LapuenteV.SuzukiK.Van de WalleS. (2020). Goats or wolves? Private sector managers in the public sector. Governance.
79.
LeeC. S.ChenY. C.TsuiP. L.YuT. H. (2014). Examining the relations between open innovation climate and job satisfaction with a PLS path model. Quality & Quantity, 48(3), 1705–1722.
80.
LeeY.-D.Huan-MingC. (2008). Relations between team work and innovation in organizations and the job satisfaction of employees: A factor analytic study. Journal of International Management, 25(4), 732–739.
81.
LeongC.HowlettM. (2017). On credit and blame: Disentangling the motivations of public policy decision-making behaviour. Policy Sciences, 50(4), 599–618.
82.
LeydenD. P.LinkA. N. (1992). Government’s role in innovation. Springer Science & Business Media.
83.
LincolnJ. R.KallebergA. L. (1985). Work organization and workforce commitment: A study of plants and employees in the US and Japan. American Sociological Review, 50(6), 738–760.
84.
LockeE. A. (1976). The nature and causes of job satisfaction. In DunnetteM. (Ed.), The handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 1297–1343). Rand McNally College Publishing.
85.
LongJ. S. (1997). Regression models for categorical and limited dependent variables. CA SAGE.
86.
MartinsE. C.TerblancheF. (2003). Building organisational culture that stimulates creativity and innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management, 6(1), 64–74.
87.
MehmetogluM. (2015). CONDISC: Stata module to perform convergent and discriminant validity assessment in CFA. Boston College Department of Economics: Statistical Software Components.
88.
MergelI.DesouzaK. C. (2013). Implementing open innovation in the public sector: The case of challenge.gov. Public Administration Review, 73(6), 882–890.
89.
MeyerJ. P.AllenN. J. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1(1), 61–89.
90.
MeyerJ. P.StanleyD. J.HerscovitchL.TopolnytskyL. (2002). Affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization: A meta-analysis of antecedents, correlates, and consequences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61(1), 20–52.
91.
MeyerR. D.DalalR. S.HermidaR. (2010). A review and synthesis of situational strength in the organizational sciences. Journal of Management, 36(1), 121–140.
92.
MischelW. (1968). Personality and assessment. Wiley.
93.
MooreM. H. (2005). Break-through innovations and continuous improvement: Two different models of innovative processes in the public sector. Public Money & Management, 25(1), 43–50.
94.
MoshagenM. (2012). The model size effect in SEM: Inflated goodness-of-fit statistics are due to the size of the covariance matrix. Structural Equation Modeling A Multidisciplinary Journal, 19(1), 86–98.
95.
NasiG.CuccinielloM.ValentinaM.GiovanniV.RaffaeleB.de VriesH.BekkersV.TummersL.GascóM.TamykoY.CharlotteF. Á. N.AlbaredaA. À.MateiA.SavulescuC.CatalinaA.Bianca BalaceanuE.NemecJ.SvidroňováM. Á. R.Mikusova MerickovaBMorette MonthuberE. (2015). Determinants and barriers of adoption, diffusion and upscaling of ICT-driven social innovation in the public sector: A comparative study across 6 EU countries. Lipse Research Report #5.
96.
NewnhamL. C. (2018). The relationship between workplace innovation and organizational culture: A case study of a Victorian public sector organization. [Ph.D. Dissertation, School of Management, College of Business]. RMIT University.
97.
OECD/Eurostat. (2018). Oslo manual 2018: Guidelines for collecting, reporting, and using data on innovation. OECD.
98.
OliveiraG. H. M.WelchE. W. (2013). Social media use in local government: Linkage of technology, task, and organizational context. Government Information Quarterly, 30(4), 397–405.
99.
ParkJ.LeeK. H.KimP. S. (2016). Participative management and perceived organizational performance: The moderating effects of innovative organizational culture. Public Performance & Management Review, 39(2), 316–336.
100.
PerryJ. L.EngbersT. A.JunS. Y. (2009). Back to the future? Performance-related pay, empirical research, and the perils of persistence. Public Administration Review, 69(1), 39–51.
101.
PerryJ. L.WiseL. R. (1990). The motivational bases of public service. Public Administration Review, 50(3), 367–373.
102.
PetersT.WatermanR. (1982). In search of excellence: Lessons from Americans best running companies. Harper & Row.
103.
PlimmerG.BermanE. M.MalinenS.FrankenE.NaswallK.KuntzJ.LöfgrenK. (2021). Resilience in public sector managers. Review of public personnel administration: 0734371X20985105.
104.
PodsakoffP. M.MacKenzieS. B.PodsakoffN. P. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 539–569.
105.
PopaS.Soto-AcostaP.Martinez-ConesaI. (2017). Antecedents, moderators, and outcomes of innovation climate and open innovation: An empirical study in SMEs. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 118, 134–142.
106.
RaineyH. G. (2009). Understanding and managing public organizations. John Wiley & Sons.
107.
Remneland-WikhamnB.WikhamnW. (2011). Open innovation climate measure: The introduction of a validated scale. Creativity and Innovation Management, 20(4), 284–295.
108.
RenF.ZhangJ. (2015). Job stressors, organizational innovation climate, and employees’ innovative behavior. Creativity Research Journal, 27(1), 16–23.
109.
RhoadesL.EisenbergerR.ArmeliS. (2001). Affective commitment to the organization: The contribution of perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(5), 825–836.
110.
RuppelC. P.HarringtonS. J. (2000). The relationship of communication, ethical work climate, and trust to commitment and innovation. Journal of Business Ethics, 25(4), 313–328.
111.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford Publications.
112.
RyuS.LeeY. J. (2013). Examining the role of management in turnover: A contingency approach. Public Performance & Management Review, 37(1), 134–153.
113.
SaariL. M.JudgeT. A. (2004). Employee attitudes and job satisfaction. Human Resource Management, 43(4), 395–407.
114.
SandfortJ.SeldenS. C.SowaJ. E. (2008). Do government tools influence organizational performance? Examining their implementation in early childhood education. The American Review of Public Administration, 38(4), 412–438.
115.
SchneiderB. (1987). The people make the place. Personnel Psychology, 40(3), 437–453.
116.
SeibertS. E.SilverS. R.RandolphW. A. (2004). Taking empowerment to the next level: A multiple-level model of empowerment, performance, and satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 47(3), 332–349.
117.
ShaneS. (1993). Cultural influences on national rates of innovation. Journal of Business Venturing, 8(1), 59–73.
118.
SiddiquiK. (2013). Heuristics for sample size determination in multivariate statistical techniques. World Applied Sciences Journal, 27(2), 285–287.
119.
SinglaA.StritchJ. M.FeeneyM. K. (2018). Constrained or creative? Changes in financial condition and entrepreneurial orientation in public organizations. Public Administration96(4), 769–786.
120.
SpectorP. E.RosenC. C.RichardsonH. A.WilliamsL. J.JohnsonR. E. (2019). A new perspective on method variance: A measure-centric approach. Journal of Management, 45(3), 855–880.
121.
SpreitzerG. M.KizilosM. A.NasonS. W. (1997). A dimensional analysis of the relationship between psychological empowerment and effectiveness satisfaction, and strain. Journal of Management, 23(5), 679–704.
122.
StazykE. C.PandeyS. K.WrightB. E. (2011). Understanding affective organizational commitment: The importance of institutional context. The American Review of Public Administration, 41(6), 603–624.
123.
SunL. Y.ZhangZ.QiJ.ChenZ. X. (2012). Empowerment and creativity: A cross-level investigation. The Leadership Quarterly, 23(1), 55–65.
124.
SuzukiK.HurH. (2020). Bureaucratic structures and organizational commitment: Findings from a comparative study of 20 European countries. Public Management Review, 22(6), 877–907.
125.
ThompsonJ. R. (2008). Personnel demonstration projects and human resource management innovation. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 28(3), 240–262.
126.
ThompsonJ. R. (2017). Value shifts in public sector human resource management: A congressional perspective. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 37(4), 375–404.
127.
ThompsonJ. R.LehewC. W. (2000). Skill-based pay as an organizational innovation. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 20(1), 20–40.
128.
TorugsaN. A.ArundelA. (2016). The nature and incidence of workgroup innovation in the Australian public sector: Evidence from the Australian 2011 state of the service survey. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 75(2), 202–221.
129.
TummersL.SteijnB.NevickaB.HeeremaM. (2018). The effects of leadership and job autonomy on vitality: Survey and experimental evidence. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 38(3), 355–377.
130.
UebersaxJ. S. (2006). Introduction to the tetrachoric and polychoric correlation coefficients. In Statistical methods for rater agreement. http://john-uebersax.com/stat/tetra.htm
131.
WalkerR. M. (2014). Internal and external antecedents of process innovation: A review and extension. Public Management Review, 16(1), 21–44.
132.
WeibelA.RostK.OsterlohM. (2010). Pay for performance in the public sector–benefits and (hidden) costs. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 20(2), 387–412.
133.
WelchE. W. W.PandeyS. (2005). Intranet adoption, use and information quality in public organizations: interactive effects of red tape and innovativeness. Proceedings of HICSS-37 IEEE Conference, Hawaii International Conference on Systems Science, Big Island, HI, January.
134.
WilliamsL. J.HazerJ. T. (1986). Antecedents and consequences of satisfaction and commitment in turnover models: A reanalysis using latent variable structural equation methods. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(2), 219–231.
135.
WipulanusatW.PanuwatwanichK.StewartR. A. (2018). Pathways to workplace innovation and career satisfaction in the public service. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 26, 890–914.
136.
WynenJ.BoonJ.KleizenB.VerhoestK. (2020). How multiple organizational changes shape managerial support for innovative work behavior: Evidence from the Australian Public Service. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 40(3), 491–515.
137.
YangK.KassekertA. (2010). Linking management reform with employee job satisfaction: Evidence from federal agencies. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 20(2), 413–436.
138.
YousefD. A. (2000). Organizational commitment and job satisfaction as predictors of attitudes toward organizational change in a non-western setting. Personnel Review, 29(5), 567–592.
