Perceived identifiability, shared responsibility and innovative work behavior

Abstract

Based on social loafing theory, we develop and test the relationships between employee perceived identifiability, shared responsibility and innovative work behavior in the team context. Additionally, we investigate the moderating effect of coworker trust on these relationships. In a study of pair data from 142 ward heads and nurses in Indonesian hospitals, we find that perceived identifiability is positively associated with innovative work behaviors while perceived shared responsibility is negatively associated with the innovative work behaviors of employees. Meanwhile, employee perceived coworker trust moderates the negative relationship between perceived shared responsibility and innovative work behaviors. We discuss details of the relationships among these variables, and offer suggestions and implications.