Champions of innovation: A moderated mediation model of job crafting and discretionary effort

Abstract

IntroductionResearch on the behavioral antecedents of employee championing behavior lacks scholarly investigation. The current study aims to fill this gap by studying behavioral interventions as the antecedents of championing behavior. ObjectiveThe current study has proposed and tested a moderated mediation model that states that perceived opportunity to craft cultivates championing behavior among employees. This relation is mediated by job crafting, whereas employee willingness to exert extra effort invigorates this relationship. MethodThe current study is based on survey-based data collected in three-time lags from employees working in the IT sector organizations. ResultsThe results supported the proposed model leading to the revelation that perceived opportunity to craft enhances championing behavior among employees through job crafting, and employee discretionary efforts moderate this indirect relationship. ConclusionThe results prove that behavioral interventions play a significant role in predicting championing behavior, whereas discretionary effort acts as a boundary condition. The results of the current study offer several theoretical and practical insights, but it also has a few limitations. This study opens several future research avenues that are discussed in the end.