African Educational Research Journal Vol. 12(2) - June 2024 - Full Length Research Paper

Oct 15, 2026

This research examined the relationship between job resources (social support, job autonomy, and colleague feedback) and innovative work behaviors of university teachers based on social exchange theory. The mediating role of psychological empowerment (meaning, competence, self-determination, impact) was also examined in the relationship between job resources and innovative work behaviors. Data were collected via quota and purposive sampling using established measurement scales. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Technology blockade and higher education context

Job resources as a driver of teachers’ innovative behavior

Psychological empowerment as a mediation mechanism

African Educational Research Journal Vol. 12(2), pp. 126-135, June 2024 DOI: 10. 30918/AERJ.122.24.027 ISSN: 2354-2160 Full Length Research Paper The role of job resources and psychological empowerment in enhancing innovative work behavior in Chinese higher education Junlan Ma and Jirawan Deeprasert* Rattanakosin International College of Creative Entrepreneurship, Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosi, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand. Accepted 24 May, 2024 | ABSTRACT
This research examined the relationship between job resources (social support, job autonomy, and colleague feedback) and innovative work behaviors of university teachers based on social exchange theory. The mediating role of psychological empowerment (meaning, competence, self-determination, impact) was also examined in the relationship between job resources and innovative work behaviors. Based on the established measurement scales, the questionnaire was used to collect data through quota sampling and purposive sampling methods. Empirical investigation was conducted with confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling analysis. The results reveal that job resources were significantly and positively correlated with innovative work behaviors, and psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between job resources and innovative work behaviors.
Keywords: Technological blockade, higher education, innovative work behavior, job resources, psychological empowerment. | | --- | | *Corresponding [author. E-mail: jirawan.dee@rmutr.ac.th](author. E-mail: jirawan.dee@rmutr.ac.th). | INTRODUCTION The technology blockade imposed by developed countries on China has been a prominent issue in the current international economic and political climate. This technology blockade has resulted in the inability of countries or enterprises to acquire, develop or utilize key technologies and products, which has largely limited the potential for economic growth (Dunford and Liu, 2023) . It has been pointed out in previous studies that university teachers are an essential group who drive the development of science, technology and innovation in China (ChengJie and Nayak, 2023) . This is due to research projects and experiments of university teachers usually involving the development of new technologies, products, and ideas (Guan and Zhang, 2011), which will help the country to maintain its competitiveness in key technological areas, thereby mitigating the risk of technology blockades. Currently, the primary factor influencing the research and innovation work behavior of Chinese university teachers is job resources (Messmann et al. , 2017; Phuong et al. , 2021) . Job resources are the factors, conditions and supports in the work environment that employees can utilize to improve their job performance, meet their occupational needs, enhance job satisfaction, and promote well-being at work (Tims et al. , 2013) . Specifically, first, teachers can only be willing to try new directions in research if they are provided with the necessary emotional and professional support (Fiorilli et al. , 2017) . Secondly, innovative work behaviors can only be facilitated by ensuring that teachers can choose their research topics, methods and strategies in the research process (VoinoYasenetsky, 2018) . Finally, timely feedback can help faculties assess their research, identify problems and make timely adjustments in direction to improve the Ma and Deeprasert 127 effectiveness and quality of research and innovation (Eva et al. , 2019) . In summary, the supply of adequate job resources can facilitate teachers' innovative work behaviors in research. Bakker et al. (2005) categorized job resources into three dimensions, mainly social support, autonomy, and feedback. Although the relationships between social support (Karimi et al. , 2023), autonomy (Dara and Hamidah, 2022), feedback (Bak, 2020) and teacher innovative work behavior have been studied, the re

FAQs

What relationship does the study investigate between job resources and teachers’ innovative work behavior?

The study examines how job resources, including social support, job autonomy, and colleague feedback, relate to university teachers’ innovative work behaviors.

How does psychological empowerment function in the proposed model?

Psychological empowerment—comprising meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact—mediates the relationship between job resources and innovative work behaviors.

What methods are used to test the hypotheses?

The study uses data from questionnaires collected through quota and purposive sampling, then applies confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

Oct 15, 2026

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