Submit your papersSubmit Now
For Enquiries: [email protected]
IIARD LogoIIARD

Employee Empowerment and Innovative Work Behavior in Manufacturing Firms in South-South Region, Nigeria

Oji, Ihuoma Gloria and, Andy-Owhor, Blessing Chinyere

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between employee empowerment and innovative work behaviour among frontline workers in selected manufacturing firms across the South-South region of Nigeria. Anchored on the Expectancy Theory and situated within a positivist paradigm, the study employed a cross-sectional survey design to investigate how structural empowerment components - access to information and employee rewards, influence employees' generation, promotion, and implementation of innovative ideas. A census approach was adopted, targeting all 250 frontline workers across 28 branches of listed manufacturing firms in the Conglomerates, Consumer Goods, and Industrial Goods sectors. Primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire comprising 44 closed-ended items adapted from established scales, and responses were rated using a five-point Likert scale. Data analysis revealed a significant and positive relationship between access to information and innovative work behaviour, affirming that well-informed employees are more likely to identify problems and propose creative solutions. Similarly, employee rewards were found to have a positive and significant influence on innovative work behaviour, indicating that well-aligned reward structures motivate employees to engage in innovation-related efforts. These findings align with existing literature and extend the applicability of Expectancy Theory in the Nigerian manufacturing context. The study concludes that employee empowerment, particularly through access to information and performance-based rewards, is a critical driver of innovative behaviour among frontline manufacturing employees. It is therefore recommended that manufacturing firms institutionalize transparent communication systems, including regular briefings and digital dashboards, to ensure timely information flow. In addition, organizations should implement structured reward systems that acknowledge both individual and team-level innovation through financial incentives, promotions, and public recognition. These practical steps can enhance creativity, adaptability, and sustained competitiveness in Nigeria’s dynamic industrial environment.

Keywords

Employee Empowerment; Access to Information; Employee Reward; Innovative Work Behaviour

References

Amabile, T. M. (2015). A model of creativity and innovation in organizations. Research in Organizational Behaviour, 10, 123–167. Amabile, T. M. (2019). How to kill creativity. Harvard Business Review, 76(5), 76–87. Asika, N. (1991). Research methodology in the behavioral sciences. Longman Nigeria. Babbie, E. R. (2010). The practice of social research (12th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage. Bandura, A. (2012). Social Cognitive Theory. In Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 349–373). Baridam, D. M. (2001). Research methods in administrative sciences (3rd ed.). Sherbrooke Associates. Conger, J. A., & Kanungo, R. N. (2018). Charismatic leadership in organizations. SAGE Publications. Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Sage. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage. Damanpour, F. (2015). Organizational innovation: A meta-analysis of effects of determinants and moderators. Academy of Management Journal, 34(3), 555–590. Davenport, T. H., & Harris, J. (2007). Competing on analytics: The new science of winning. Harvard Business Press. De Jong, J., & Hartog, D. (2010). Measuring innovative work behaviour. Creativity and Innovation Management, 19(1), 23–36. Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (2017). A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 125(6), 627–668. Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (2014). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(2), 431–436. Hareendrakumar, G., Mathew, M. E., & Joy, D. (2021). Employee empowerment and job performance: A mediated moderated model. Global Business Review, 22(2), 367–383. Hargadon, A., & Sutton, R. I. (2014). Technology brokering and innovation in a product development firm. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42(4), 716–749. Janssen, O. (2005). The joint impact of perceived influence and supervisor supportiveness on employee innovative behaviour. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 78(4), 573–579. Kanter, R. M. (2018). The change masters: Innovation and entrepreneurship in the American corporation. Simon and Schuster. Kothari, C. R., & Garg, G. (2014). Research methodology: Methods and techniques (3rd ed.). New Age International. Lawler, E. E., & Porter, L. W. (1967). The effect of performance on job satisfaction. Industrial Relations, 7(1), 20–28. Lazear, E. P. (2000). Performance pay and productivity. American Economic Review, 90(5), 1346–1361. Milkovich, G. T., & Newman, J. M. (2005). Compensation. McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Motamarri, S., Akter, S., & Yanamandram, V. (2020). Empowering frontline employees in digital service delivery: A systematic review and research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 116, 44–61. P-ISSN 2695-186X Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (2020). Determinants of innovative behaviour: A path model of individual innovation in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 580– 607. Spreitzer, G. M. (2019). Taking stock: A review of more than twenty years of research on empowerment at work. In The Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship (pp. 85–101). Oxford University Press. Tidd, J., & Bessant, J. (2018). Managing innovation: Integrating technological, market, and organizational change (6th ed.). John Wiley & Sons. Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and motivation. New York: Wiley. Zikmund, W. G. (2010). Business research methods (8th ed.). South-Western Cengage Learning.

More Articles from IIARD INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT