Can goal-directed regulatory processes lead to innovative performance? Testing a motivational model of innovation

The present dissertation aims at applying goal regulation theory to the study of innovative work behaviour. After reviewing the state-of-the-art of innovation literature (first chapter), we conducted three empirical studies on distinct samples. In the first study (second chapter), we hypothesized and found that proactive goal generation – which includes envisioning and planning processes – was positively related to innovative behaviour, and that affective commitment, interacting with production ownership or, alternatively, with leader support for innovation, strengthened this relationship. In the second study (third chapter), we proposed and showed that planning mediated the link between envisioning and innovation, and that psychological empowerment and team support for innovation positively moderated the relationship between envisioning and planning. Finally, in the third study (fourth chapter), we theorized and demonstrated that learning goal orientation, psychological climate for innovation, and task variety enhanced innovative performance indirectly through the mediation of envisioning and planning, and that learning goal orientation amplified the relationship between planning and innovation. Theoretical and practical implications of our works are addressed in the general discussion.