Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2026-2
Team engagement for boosting team innovative behaviour in small and medium enterprises: An integrating framework of attitudinal and trait-related determinants
Today, enterprises are devoting a burgeoning interest in fostering team innovative behaviour at the workplace. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to bring together two lines of engagement enquiry (individual and team), leaning on similar theoretical veins and ontologies; however, exploring the interrelationship between these two constructs has received scant attention. Towards that end, a survey questionnaire was developed to collect data from 547 employees working for SMEs operating in Jordan. The findings revealed that team engagement mediates individual engagement and team innovative behaviour. Further, the findings indicated a positive moderating effect of the variation in team's relationship-oriented traits on the individual-team engagement association. Interestingly, the hypothesis proposing a moderating influence of the variation in the team's task-oriented traits was not statistically supported. This study provides an unprecedented progress to the scholarly conversation revolving around the neoteric influence of employee engagement and team innovative behaviour. The newfangled theoretical model links employee engagement theory with team innovative behaviours through the moderation effects of team personality compositions.
AbabnehOMA (2020) The impact of organizational culture archetypes on quality performance and total quality management: the role of employee engagement and individual values. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management38(6): 1387–1408.
2.
AbabnehOMA (2021) How do green HRM practices affect employees’ green behaviors? The role of employee engagement and personality attributes. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management1(23): 1204–1226.
3.
AbabnehOMA (2022) How can human capital promote innovative behaviour? exploring the attitudinal dynamics of employee engagement and mental involvement. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14657503221123405
4.
AbabnehOMAAwwadASAbu-HaijaA (2021) The association between green human resources practices and employee engagement with environmental initiatives in hotels: the moderation effect of perceived transformational leadership. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism20(3): 390–416.
5.
AbabnehOMALeFevreMBentleyT (2019) Employee engagement: development of a new measure. International Journal of Human Resource Development and Management19(2): 105–134.
6.
AbabnehOMAMackyK (2015) The meaning and measurement of employee engagement: a review of the literature. New Zealand Journal of Human Resources15(1): 1–35.
7.
AdamNAAlarifiG (2021) Innovation practices for survival of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the COVID-19 times: the role of external support. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship10(1): 1–2.
BaronRMKennyDA (1986) The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology51: 1173–1182.
10.
BarrickMRStewartGLNeubertMJ, et al. (1998) Relating member ability and personality to work-team processes and team effectiveness. Journal of Applied Psychology83(3): 377–391.
11.
BarsadeSG (2002) The ripple effect: emotional contagion and its influence on group behaviour. Administrative Science Quarterly47: 644–675.
12.
BellST (2007) Deep-level composition variables as predictors of team performance: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology92(3): 595–615.
13.
BentlerPM (1990) Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin107: 238–246.
14.
BosoNStoryVMCadoganJW (2013) Entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, network ties, and performance: study of entrepreneurial firms in a developing economy. Journal of Business Venturing28(6): 708–727.
15.
CameronKSQuinnRE (2011) Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework. California: Jossey-Bass.
16.
ChabbouhHBoujelbeneY (2022) Open innovation, dynamic organizational capacities and innovation performance in SMEs: empirical evidence in the Tunisian manufacturing industry. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14657503211066014.
17.
ChiuC-YLinH-COstroffC (2021) Fostering team learning orientation magnitude and strength: roles of transformational leadership, team personality heterogeneity, and behavioural integration. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology94: 187–216.
18.
ChoYJSongHJ (2021) How to facilitate innovative behavior and organizational citizenship behavior: evidence from public employees in Korea. Public Personnel Management50(4): 509–537.
19.
CookKSRiceE (2006) Social exchange theory. In: DeLamaterJ (ed) The Handbook of Social Psychology. New York: Springer US, pp.53–76.
20.
CostaPLPassosAMBakkerAB (2014) Team work engagement: a model of emergence. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology87: 414–436.
21.
CostaPTMcCraeRR (1992) The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) Professional Manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
22.
De SpiegelaereSVan GyesGDe WitteH, et al. (2014) Job insecurity, job autonomy and innovative work behaviour. Creativity and Innovation Management23: 318–330.
23.
FletcherL (2017) The everyday experiences of personal role engagement: what matters most?Human Resource Development Quarterly28: 451–479.
24.
FornellCGLarckerDF (1981) Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research18(1): 39–50.
25.
GeorgeJM (1990) Personality, affect, and behaviour in groups. Journal of Applied Psychology75(2): 107–116.
26.
GliskyMLTatarynDJTobiasBA, et al. (1991) Absorption, openness to experience, and hypnotisability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology60(2): 263–272.
27.
GoldAMalhotraASegarsA (2001) Knowledge management: an organizational capabilities perspective. Journal of Management Information Systems18: 185–214.
28.
González-RomáVPeiróJMSubiratsM, et al. (2000) The validity of affective work team climates. In: VartiainenMAvalloneFAndersonN (eds) Innovative Theories, Tools and Practices in Work and Organizational Psychology. Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe & Huber, pp.97–109.
29.
HairJFHultGTMRingleCM, et al. (2017a) A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), 2nd ed.Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: Sage Publications.
30.
HairJFMatthewsLMMatthewsRL, et al. (2017b) PLS-SEM or CB-SEM: updated guidelines on which method to use. International Journal of Multivariate Data Analysis1(2): 107–122.
31.
HalfhillTSundstromELahnerJ, et al. (2005) Group personality composition and group effectiveness: an integrative review of empirical research. Small Group Research36(1): 83–105.
32.
HandaMGulatiA (2014) Employee engagement does individual personality matter. Journal of Management Research14(1): 57–67.
33.
HatfieldECacioppoJTRapsonRL (1992) Primitive emotional contagion. In: ClarkMS (ed) Review of Personality and Social Psychology: Emotions and Social Behaviour. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, pp.151–177.
34.
HayesAF (2013) Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach. New York: Guilford Press.
35.
HenselerJRingleCMSarstedtM (2015) A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science43(1): 115–135.
36.
HerrandoCConstantinidesE (2021) Emotional contagion: a brief overview and future directions. Frontiers in Psychology12: 712606.
37.
HuangWYuanCLiM (2019) Person–job fit and innovation behavior: roles of job involvement and career commitment. Frontiers in Psychology10: 1134.
38.
HumphreySEHollenbeckJRMeyerCJ, et al. (2007) Trait configurations in self-managed teams: a conceptual examination of the use of seeding to maximize and minimize trait variance in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology92: 885–892.
39.
HumphreySEHollenbeckJRMeyerCJ, et al. (2011) Personality configurations in self-managed teams: a natural experiment on the effects of maximizing and minimizing variance in traits. Journal of Applied Social Psychology41(7): 1701–1732.
40.
IliesRWagnerDTMorgesonFP (2007) Explaining affective linkages in teams: individual differences in susceptibility to contagion and individualismcollectivism. Journal of Applied Psychology92: 1140–1148.
41.
JamesLRDemareeRGWolfG (1984) Estimating within-group interrater reliability with and without response bias. Journal of Applied Psychology69(1): 85–98.
42.
KafetzopoulosD (2020) Performance management of SMEs: a systematic literature review for antecedents and moderators. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management71(1): 289–315.
43.
KahnWA (1990) Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal33(4): 692–724.
44.
KirkmanBLRosenB (1999) Beyond self-management: antecedents and consequences of team empowerment. Academy of Management Journal42: 58–74.
45.
KleinaltenkampMKarpenIOPlewaC, et al. (2019) Collective engagement in organizational settings. Industrial Marketing Management80: 11–23.
46.
KozlowskiSWJKleinKJ (2000) A multilevel approach to theory and research in organizations: contextual, temporal, and emergent processes. In: KleinKJKozlowskiSWJ (eds) Multilevel Theory, Research, and Methods in Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp.3–90.
47.
LeongFTLAustinJT (2006) The Psychology Research Handbook: A Guide for Graduate Students and Research Assistants, 2nd ed.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
48.
LepineJAPiccoloRFJacksonCL, et al. (2008) A meta-analysis of teamwork processes: tests of a multidimensional model and relationships with team effectiveness criteria. Person Psychol61: 273–307.
49.
MaceyWHSchneiderB (2008) The meaning of employee engagement. Industrial and Organizational Psychology1(1): 3–30.
50.
MarshHHauK-TWenZ (2004) In search of golden rules: comment on hypothesis- testing approaches to setting cutoff values for fit indexes and dangers in overgeneralizing Hu and Bentler’s (1999) findings. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal11(3): 320–341.
51.
McGrathJE (1998) A view of group composition through a group-theoretic lens. In: NealeMAMannixEAGruenfeldDH (eds) Research on Managing Groups and Teams. Greenwich, CT: JAI, pp.255–272.
52.
MohammedSAngellLC (2003) Personality heterogeneity in teams: which differences make a difference for team performance?Small Group Research34(6): 651–677.
53.
MoynihanLPetersonRS (2001) A contingent configuration approach to understanding the role of personality in organizational groups. In: StawBMSuttonRI (eds) Research in Organizational Behavior. New York: JAI, pp.327–378.
54.
MuchinskyPMMonahanCJ (1987) What is person-environment congruence? Supplementary versus complementary models of fit. Journal of Vocational Behavior31(3): 268–277.
55.
MuizuWOZ (2017) The influence of personality on employee engagement and emotional intelligence (an empirical study on employees of rural banks in West Java, Indonesia). South East Asia Journal of Contemporary Business, Economics and Law12(2): 2289–1560.
56.
MulaikSAJamesLRVan AlstineJ, et al. (1989) Evaluation of goodness-of-fit indices for structural equation models. Psychological Bulletin105(3): 430–445.
57.
NeumanGAWagnerSHChristiansenND (1999) The relationship between work-team personality composition and the job performance of teams. Group and Organization Management24: 28–45.
58.
PatelASMoakeTRTimothyR, et al. (2017) Employee engagement for an increasingly educated workforce: the impact of competitive team climate. Journal of Personnel Psychology16(4): 186–194.
59.
PresbiteroA (2017) How do changes in human resource management practices influence employee engagement? A longitudinal study in a hotel chain in the Philippines. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism16(1): 56–70.
60.
PrewettMSBrownMIGoswamiA, et al. (2016) Effects of team personality composition on member performance: a multilevel perspective. Group & Organization Management43(2): 316–348.
61.
RadovicSMatićJOpacicG (2020) Personality traits composition and team performance, management. Journal of Sustainable Business and Management Solutions in Emerging Economies25(3): 33–42.
62.
RoloffM (1981) Interpersonal Communication: The Social Exchange Approach. Beverly Hills: Sage.
63.
RutishauserLSenderA (2019) Effect of team-member exchange on turnover intention: a cross-cultural perspective on a selected aspect of employee engagement. International Studies of Management & Organization49(1): 43–62.
64.
SalanovaMSchaufeliWB (2008) A cross–national study of work engagement as a mediator between job resources and proactive behaviour. The International Journal of Human Resource Management19: 116–131.
65.
SchaufeliWBMartinezIMPintoAM, et al. (2002) Burnout and engagement in university students: a cross-national study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology33(5): 464–481.
66.
SchragZM (2011) The case against ethics review in the social sciences. Research Ethics7(4): 120–131.
67.
SchumackerRELomaxRG (2004) A Beginner’s Guide to Structural Equation Modeling, 2nd ed.Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
68.
ScottSGBruceRA (1994) Determinants of innovative behaviour: a path model of individual innovation in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal37(3): 580–607.
69.
SobaihAEEElshaerIHasaneinAM, et al. (2021) Responses to COVID-19: the role of performance in the relationship between small hospitality enterprises’ resilience and sustainable tourism development. International Journal of Hospitality Management94: 102824.
70.
Social Security Corporation (2015) Jordan Social Security Corporation Annual Report. Retrieved 18 January 2022 from: https://www.ssc.gov.jo/.
71.
SongQGuoPFuR, et al. (2022) Does human resource system strength help employees act proactively? The roles of crisis strength and work engagement. Human Resource Management1–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22145.
72.
TaghaviS (2019) Mental construal and employee engagement: for more engagement Look at the big picture. International Studies of Management & Organization49(1): 99–107.
73.
TaghizadehSKAl RiyamiSRahmanSA, et al. (2022) Does entrepreneurial intention for innovation at firm-level matter to affect performance?The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14657503221121574
74.
TorrentePSalanovaMLlorensS, et al. (2012) Teams make it work: how team work engagement mediates between social resources and performance in teams. Psicothema24(1): 106–112.
75.
WaightCLEdwardsMT (2020) Team engagement in an executive human resource development program: a closed cohort model perspective. Human Resource Development Quarterly32(3): 419–441.
76.
XuYLiuDTangD-S (2022) Decent work and innovative work behaviour: mediating roles of work engagement, intrinsic motivation and job self-efficacy. Creativity and Innovation Management31(1): 49–63.
77.
ZhouW (2016) When does shared leadership matter in entrepreneurial teams: the role of personality composition. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal12(1): 153–169.
78.
ZighanSAbualqumbozMDwaikatN, et al. (2022) The role of entrepreneurial orientation in developing SMEs resilience capabilities throughout COVID-19. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation23(4): 227–239.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
