Psychological safety as a predictor for innovation: How psychological safety and diversity can contribute to innovative behaviour

Working in teams has become common in many organisations. In studies about the performance of teams, psychological safety has become an popular topic. Psychological safety describes an atmosphere were employees feel comfortable speaking up about their concerns and new ideas. As the performance of an organisation is often dependent on innovation and innovative behaviour, we propose that psychological safety can positively predict innovative behaviour. Additionally, diversity was studied, specifically the characteristics age, gender, and work experience, and their individual influences on innovative behaviour and psychological safety. Previous research has shown mixed results about the performance of diverse teams, therefore it is necessary to extent research in this field. Data was collected using an online survey with questions regarding innovative behaviour and perceived psychological safety by employees from a Dutch organisation (N = 375). First, we used a simple linear regression...Show moreWorking in teams has become common in many organisations. In studies about the performance of teams, psychological safety has become an popular topic. Psychological safety describes an atmosphere were employees feel comfortable speaking up about their concerns and new ideas. As the performance of an organisation is often dependent on innovation and innovative behaviour, we propose that psychological safety can positively predict innovative behaviour. Additionally, diversity was studied, specifically the characteristics age, gender, and work experience, and their individual influences on innovative behaviour and psychological safety. Previous research has shown mixed results about the performance of diverse teams, therefore it is necessary to extent research in this field. Data was collected using an online survey with questions regarding innovative behaviour and perceived psychological safety by employees from a Dutch organisation (N = 375). First, we used a simple linear regression to map the relationship between innovative behaviour and psychological safety. Second, we performed a simple linear regression to find the individual influences of age, gender, and work experience on respectively innovative behaviour and psychological safety. Additional analyses were performed to extend insight into the relations and internal structures of these constructs. Results showed that psychological safety is a positive predictor of innovative behaviour and that work experience can predict innovative behaviour in certain circumstances. We conclude that psychological safety can predict innovative behaviour and that diverse characteristics are unlikely to influence both constructs separately. However, further research is necessary to explain the role of diversity in this relationship, as this study has not been able to measure diversity as a team characteristic. Further suggestions and limitations are discussed.Show less

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Psychological safety as a predictor for innovation: How psychological safety and diversity can contribute to innovative behaviour