Role of a Sense of Urgency in Driving Employees’ Innovative Behavior: Empirical Evidence from Japan

Abstract

This study investigates antecedents of a sense of urgency and its effect on innovative behavior. Data from 481 employees working in Japanese manufacturing companies were collected by administering an online questionnaire survey, then were analyzed using structural equation modeling and moderation analysis. The findings suggest that a sense of urgency among employees can significantly improve innovative behavior, including idea generation, promotion, and realization. Moreover, the effect of a sense of urgency on idea realization will be more substantial if there is a higher level of trust in management. Furthermore, our results indicate that a sense of urgency is triggered by managerial actions of external benchmarking and challenging goals setting, but it is hindered by reducing bonuses. Additionally, change leadership behavior was found to strengthen the positive impact of benchmarking and the negative impact of bonus reduction on a sense of urgency. As an early work that empirically tests the antecedents and outcomes of a sense of urgency, this study contributes to change management and behavioral operations literature. Furthermore, it guides managers to utilize motivation from a sense of urgency to leverage employees' innovative behavior.