The relationship between employee propensity to innovate and their decision to create a company

Abstract

Purpose – The main objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between employees’ propensity to innovate and cultivate entrepreneurial aspirations whilst working within an organization. This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of this interrelation, reflecting from a theoretical point of view on the factors that influence innovative propensity and entrepreneurial intention of the paid employee working in a public sector organization and studying the role played by the opportunity cost. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 149 employees working for a public organization. In order to verify the hypotheses proffered, two multiple regression analyses were undertaken. Findings – The authors provide evidence that an understanding of the capacity that some employees have towards innovation offers an added tier of information and affords meaningful results. Their findings suggest that there is a positive impact of innovative propensity on entrepreneurial intention, and that it is stronger when combined with lower opportunity cost. Research limitations/implications – The study contributes to the field of entrepreneurship being informative for researchers interested in the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention and can also be utilized to further research in the field of human resource management and retention practices within organizations. Originality/value – This study contributes to the growing empirical literature on entrepreneurial intention from a perspective that has been hitherto largely overlooked: the employee’s perspective.