Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT, which can generate human-like responses from vast amounts of textual data, are increasingly transforming work routines across various fields, including education, healthcare, and IT. This integration, however, raises privacy concerns and questions the readiness of both environments and individuals. To investigate this issue, we conducted a user study with N=224 participants from a range of different employment sectors that have integrated ChatGPT into their work routines. We examined how proficiency in the utilization of ChatGPT, general privacy concerns, and organizational policies for GenAI usage impact users' actual ChatGPT usage and how these factors interact. Our findings reveal organizational policies are significantly positively associated with privacy-related ChatGPT proficiency, however, the overall proficiency is low. Higher privacy concerns were found to negatively influence both the frequency of ChatGPT use and the diversity of its applications, especially among users in organizations without GenAI policies.

The importance of the cultural and creative industries (CCI), for instance for economic growth and innovation dynamics, is increasing globally. To foster the development of the CCI and the professional development of its entrepreneurs, insight into careers in the CCI is needed. Therefore, the current study investigates characteristics of careers in the CCI and linked this insight to motivational and behavioural aspects of professionals in the CCI and to characteristics of their work context. An online-survey with N=61 entrepreneurs working in the CCI in Germany is carried out (over a period of 8 months from October 2021 until June 2022). The mean age of the participating entrepreneurs was M = 46.53 years (SD = 14.26) and ranged from 23 years to 80 years. Concerning gender, 54.1% were female, 42.6% were male, and 1.6% were non-binary. A cluster analysis and an ANOVA are carried out to investigate how careers in the CCI differ regarding different career aspects and individual and work characteristics. The results indicate three clusters concerning the investigated career aspects ‘proactive career behaviour’, ‘career success’, ‘career identity’, and ‘career aspirations’: entrepreneurs with high values (close to sample average), entrepreneurs with very high values (above sample average) and entrepreneurs with moderate values (below sample average). These clusters differ concerning individual characteristics (particularly regarding innovative behaviour) and concerning work characteristics (particularly regarding job complexity). For practice, this study indicates the need to make entrepreneurs in the CCI aware of the importance of various individual and work characteristics for creating a successful career.

The global shortage of cybersecurity professionals poses a daunting challenge for organizations seeking to protect their assets and data. To counteract this workforce shortage, cyber range exercises (CRXs) can equip individuals with the necessary knowledge and skills to become security professionals. However, the complexity of CRXs tends to overwhelm trainees with little prior cybersecurity experience, resulting in ineffective learning experiences. To address this issue, we take an interdisciplinary approach, leveraging established models on learning and motivation for cybersecurity. In this pursuit, we propose a literature-based framework of six design principles that aim to facilitate CRX designers in creating more effective CRXs. To illustrate the framework’s utility, we introduce a CRX for incident response built upon these principles. To evaluate the effectiveness of this principle-driven CRX design, we conducted a user study with N=89 participants. The results of this study showed that the design provided an engaging learning experience that enabled participants to effectively acquire incident response knowledge and skills.

This contribution aimed at investigating how work-related reflection as cognitive efforts towards developing an understanding of work tasks, the surrounding work context, and one's professional competencies adds to the role of psychological empowerment and participative safety in predicting innovative behaviour and job crafting as two forms of proactivity. Quantitative data from 295 employees of micro, small, and medium-sized organizations in the information sector were collected with a cross-sectional questionnaire. For hypotheses testing, structural equation modelling was employed. The results of the study showed that work-related reflection and psychological empowerment were substantially related to innovative behaviour and job crafting while participative safety only played a minor role. These findings imply that jobs need to contain empowering and sufficiently complex work tasks that require reflection and provide occasions for reflective interactions to enable employees to create efficient routines and adapt to changes at work. Furthermore, experiences of empowerment need to be rooted in social interactions at work. Likewise, the value of reflection will only unfold if employees and supervisors regularly engage in reflection.

Distributed leadership (DL) and leader-member exchange (LMX) are highly relevant for fostering teachers’ innovative work behavior (IWB). Based on self-determination theory, we hypothesized that the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs (BPNS) for autonomy, competence, and relatedness plays a major role in mediating these relationships. To investigate this assumption, we executed a quantitative survey study among secondary education teachers involving a time-lag design with two points of measurement ( N (T1) = 654 and N (T2) = 293). For hypothesis testing we employed structural equation modelling (SEM) and found support for most of our assumptions: DL (at T1) enhanced teachers’ IWB (at T2) by fueling BPNS (at T1 and T2) (indirect effects: autonomy (T1/T2): β = .10/.09, p < .10/.01; competence (T1/T2): β = .09/.10, p < .01/.01; relatedness (T1/T2): β = .00/.08, ns / p < .01). Conversely, LMX (at T1) hardly exerted its effect through BPNS (at T1 and T2) but was directly connected to teachers’ IWB (at T2) (indirect effects: autonomy (T1/T2): β = .06/.07, p < .10/.01; competence (T1/T2): β = .01/.04, ns / ns ; relatedness (T1/T2): β = .00/.03, ns / p < .10; direct effects (T1/T2): β = .15/.09, p < .05/ ns ). Therefore, to promote teachers’ IWB, school leaders should not only focus on the relationship quality with teachers, but also on the informal distribution of leadership practice and, more generally, to the creation of an environment that bolsters teachers’ BPNS. Moreover, future research may explore these relationships in other educational sectors as well as in non-profit organizations.

EDITORIAL article Front. Psychol., 13 June 2023Sec. Organizational Psychology Volume 14 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1156141

The aim of this contribution was to investigate predictors of innovative work behavior (IWB) in nonprofit organizations. For instance, in schools, innovative solutions are crucial as the quality of education and therefore the schools' competitiveness depends on their ability to keep pace with technological, economic, and societal transformations. We addressed this issue in a quantitative study with 130 teachers in Dutch secondary schools employing a time-lag design. In accordance with self-determination theory, we investigated the role of transformational leadership for enhancing IWB and the role of basic psychological needs satisfaction in mediating this relationship. By employing structural equation modeling, we found that transformational leadership was positively related to the satisfaction of the teachers' needs for autonomy and competence. Furthermore, the satisfaction of the need for competence positively predicted teachers' IWB. In addition, perceived competence fully mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and teachers' IWB. Accordingly, persons with leadership responsibilities should adopt a transformational leadership style and motivate their employees by providing individual attention, intellectual stimulation, and encouragement for goal striving. Specifically, leaders may provide feedback on employees' innovative ideas and their strategies for realizing innovative solutions, thus helping them to become increasingly confident about what they can achieve and improve concerning their contributions to innovation development. For human resource development (HRD) professionals, our findings imply that efforts toward leadership training and development (e.g., training, coaching, and mentoring) should incorporate knowledge and practical experiences about transformational leadership as well as its role for employees' IWB and their contributions to organizational and professional development.

PurposeThis contribution aims at providing a measure of the overall construct of innovative work behaviour (IWB). As a consequence of the construct's dynamic, context-bound nature, the measure of IWB is based on concrete work activities, captures social and reflective activities, and is context-bound. By employing a short, one-dimensional measurement scale, the instrument enables valuable scientific and practical insights in an economical way.Design/methodology/approachThe measure of IWB was evaluated with two samples of employees in different work contexts by conducting psychometric analyses, reliability analyses, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and correlation analyses with criterion variables.FindingsThe study provides evidence for the psychometric quality, reliability and validity of the measure of IWB.Research limitations/implicationsThe measure can be used to efficiently measure overall IWB. It thus enables the investigation of complex research models involving intervening mechanisms, interactions, or longitudinal effects. Further validation in other work domains and the inclusion of other criterion variables, such as innovative outcomes, is advised.Practical implicationsThe measure is useful for organizational practitioners to efficiently assess employees' IWB, to determine needs for supporting IWB at organizational level, and as a conceptual guideline for designing training or giving performance feedback during innovation projects.Originality/valueThe measure enables insights into the question how IWB can be fostered in practice. In addition, the contribution highlights that a measure of IWB needs to account for the construct's dynamic, context-bound nature and pay attention to usability as an important but often neglected quality criterion.

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the role of characteristics of vocational education teachers’ personal network at the workplace for determining the resources that enable them to cope with innovation-related demands at work.Design/methodology/approachA survey study with 48 vocational education teachers is carried out. Social network analysis, correlation analysis, and a comparative descriptive analysis of cluster profiles of teachers’ personal network at the workplace are carried out.FindingsThis study provides evidence for the role of network size as a facilitator of innovative work behaviour (IWB) outside the classroom. However, smaller networks can also support the development of innovations if they contain dense interactions with experienced, innovative professionals.Research limitations/implicationsThis study implies to further investigate the role of network size in relation to the kind of network interactions (e.g. density of interactions and experience of members) in the context of larger and versatile work contexts.Practical implicationsThis study implies that organisations should provide structures, tasks and events (e.g. interdisciplinary work teams and boundary crossing events) that enable employees to build network connections that help them to manage work-related demands. Employees themselves should reflect on their personal interaction preferences, their specific needs for support and the availability of co-workers who can provide this support.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the discourse on the relationship between professional networks and the development of innovations. Especially, the social work context and its role for IWB have hardly been investigated from a network perspective.

This chapter addresses the role of work-related reflection as a facilitator of innovative work behaviour. We approached this issue by carrying out a synthesis of findings from one qualitative and three quantitative studies involving samples of vocational education teachers, secondary education teachers, and employees of a production company. In accordance with our synthesis, we suggest that workrelated reflection, including innovation-specific reflection and reflection during daily work, is a powerful driver for proactive behaviours including innovative work behaviour and, thus, for organisational and professional development.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate interactions of job demands and job resources in the facilitation of innovative work behavior (IWB). In particular, the paper aims at researching interactive effects of psychological empowerment and participative safety and their potential to buffer negative effects of job demands. Design/methodology/approach - A cross-sectional questionnaire study with 239 vocational teachers was carried out. For hypotheses testing, multiple linear regression models were analyzed. Findings - The study provides evidence for psychological empowerment and participative safety as individual and interactive predictors of IWB. Furthermore, the findings indicate that effects of job demands are substantially more positive when psychological empowerment is high and, conversely, when participative safety is low. Research limitations/implications - Future studies should address the issues of the current study using a longitudinal approach and additional data sources. Moreover, concerning generalizability, future studies could move beyond the current study context of innovative vocational colleges and teachers. Practical implications - The paper highlights the importance of creating resourceful work environments, which empower employees and provide fellowship and minority acceptance. Furthermore, the findings call for paying attention to individually varying perceptions of job demands and corresponding needs for compensatory job resources. Originality/value - The study adds to closing the gap of lacking insight into interactions among established predictors of IWB. In particular, this regards interactions among demanding and resourceful characteristics of the work environment that need to be balanced in order to activate proactive behaviors such as IWB.

The aim of this review was to get insight into the impact of learning behaviors on innovative behavior in work teams. We addressed this issue by carrying out a systematic literature review. Thirty-one articles that reported studies on learning and innovation development in work teams were included in the review. By integrating the correlational findings of the original studies, we found that, at large, all investigated team learning behaviors had an effect on aspects of team innovative work behavior. Concerning specific team learning behaviors, sharing, team reflection, and team activity had the strongest impact on teams' engagement in innovation development. A central conclusion is that learning and innovation development are mutually dependent aspects of teamwork and that fostering one aspect will also be beneficial for the other. Based on our findings, we draw practical implications for fostering team development through enhancing learning behaviors and innovative work behavior in teams.

Researchers and policy makers agree that the relation between school and work is an important characteristic of vocational education and training (VET) and needs attention. The relation itself poses several challenges for research to be successful and useful for policy makers. In this article, we outline these challenges and answer the following question: What needs to be considered when researching the relation between school and work? Our central claim is that research on the relation between school and work needs to (1) take into account contextual conditions of the VET system, including identifying the central actors and their responsibilities within a VET system, (2) take into account the characteristics of VET itself, (3) define the quality of the relation between school and work (depending on the context, characteristics of the VET system and VET itself), and (4) be consistent with respect to chosen research aims and paradigms. To illustrate how these aspects can be taken into account an example of empirical research conducted in the German dual apprenticeship system is described. The readers are provided with guidelines for researchers and policy makers to carry out high quality research on the relation between school and work in VET systems that enables policy makers to make use of the results to improve the relation between school and work in VET systems.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of reflection as a preparatory mechanism for employees' engagement in innovative work behaviour (IWB). This issue was explored in a study with 67 teachers at the highest level of German secondary education. Specifically, we investigated whether teachers who reflected on work tasks, the social context and their work performance were more engaged in the exploration of opportunities for innovation as well as the generation, promotion and realization of innovative ideas. By applying path modelling, we found that work‐related reflection facilitated all dimensions of IWB. Teachers' IWB most strongly depended on their performance‐related reflection. Also, reflecting on work tasks and the social context affected teachers' IWB indirectly by benefitting their performance‐related reflection. As a consequence, reflection should be valued as a resource for innovation and professional development as well as a vital component of work routines, organizational cultures and job training.

The aim of this study was to investigate how apprentices' learning activities at work can be fostered. This is a crucial issue as learning at work enhances apprentices' competence development and prepares them for professional development on the job. Therefore, we conducted a study with 70 apprentices in the German dual system and examined the role of school-work alignment and work characteristics as facilitators of apprentices' work-based learning activities. Outcomes of path modelling showed that apprentices' engagement in enquiring was facilitated by their perception of work orientation at school. Likewise, if apprentices perceived work as complex and providing autonomy and needs support, they more strongly reflected individually on work-related challenges. Finally, as a consequence of perceiving their work as complex, they sought reflective interactions with others. The study, thus, highlights the importance of challenging, empowering and supportive work environments and of alignment between school and work as facilitators of apprentices' learning activities at work.

The aim of this study was to investigate how employees’ innovative work behaviour is determined by the level of target specificity of innovation tasks, which refers to the concreteness of a task regarding the realization of an innovation. This issue was addressed in a study with 239 vocational teachers. The study investigated the assumption that employees have different task‐related needs depending on whether they engage in innovation tasks with low or high target specificity. That is, with increasing target specificity, innovation‐specific resources, such as perceived social support, become more important compared with general, work‐related resources such as perceived impact. In addition, the study aimed to show that intrinsic motivation for innovation is a crucial requirement at all levels of target specificity. By applying structural equation and path modelling, we found that (1) the engagement in innovation tasks with low target specificity (i.e., opportunity exploration) depended on perceived impact, (2) the engagement in innovation tasks with high target specificity (i.e., idea generation, idea promotion, and reflection) was facilitated by perceived social support, and (3) intrinsic task motivation enhanced the engagement in innovation tasks at all levels of target specificity and mediated the effects of perceived impact and perceived social support.Practitioner points The development of innovations can be fostered if employees are encouraged to carry out social‐interactive and reflective activities such as sharing ideas and critically analysing conditions, tasks, processes, and outcomes at work. The exploration of opportunities for innovation can be facilitated by a work environment and by job tasks, which provide experiences that increase employees’ perception of influence on work processes and outcomes. Dimensions of innovative work behaviour that are related to the realization of an innovation can be facilitated by a work environment that supports innovation processes by encouraging an open dialogue about ideas, by providing appreciation and sociopolitical backing, and by guiding less experienced colleagues in the innovation process. The engagement in all innovative behaviours can be enhanced by creating an intrinsically motivating work environment that contains collaborative work structures, a safe space for errors and reflection, and sensitivity for context‐specific problems and needs.