INTRODUCTION
Innovationisoneofvitalfactorsleadingtheorganizationtosuccessinbusinessinthelongterm.Inde ed,itisafactorwhichbringscompetitiveadvantagesfororganizationstosurviveandsuccessintoday businessmarketthroughthedevelopmentandi m p l e m e n t a t i o n ofnewideasdisclosedtopr oducts,processesandservices(Anderson,Potocnik,&Zhou,2014;Lin&Liu,2012).
IWBisthepurposeestablishment,debut,andapplicantnewconceptforimprovingp r o d u c t i v e processes,andproductdesignsinorganization(West&Farr,1989).Hence,I W B showavitalpa rtinanyorganizationsfortheirfurtherdevelopmentinourchallengingbusinessenvironment.Innovat ionisavitalsourcefororganizationforsurvivingineconomybecauseofthechangeintechnology,glo balcompetitionandnewregulations.Thus,thereisaneedforexaminingallfactorswhichincreasethe IWBforemployees(Argawal,2014).
Inthebodyofliterature,therearedifferentcomponents,whichaimtoleadbusinessorganiz ationinmotivatingtheiremployeesforbestoutcomesincludep a r t i c i p a t i v e leadership,exter nalworkcontacts(Jong&Hartog,2007),andself- leadershipskills(Manz,1992).Firstly,participativeleadershipistheleadershipstyleinw h i c h l eadersgivetheiremployeestherighttoinfluenceimportantdecisions,designandg u i d e theirowntas ksbyimplementdecision- makingprocess(Yukl,2002).Similarly,p a r t i c i p a t i v e leadershipisfoundtoenhanceverypositiv elyIWBatworkingplace( K r a u s e , 2004).
Secondly,externalworkcontactsisthewayofexchanginginformationforbetter,a n d moree xpertiseknowledgewithotherpeopleoutsideoftheirorganization,suchascustomers,scientists,andp rofessors.Indeed,KimberlyandEvanisko(1981)believed
7 thatmorecommunicatingwithexternalcontactsisthemainsourcetoleadmoreinnovationatwor ksforemployees.So,thereisapositivecorrelationbetweenexternalw o r k andIWB(Perry-
Thirdly,self- leadershipskillsareanimportantfactorwhichinfluencesIWB.Manz( 1 9 9 2 ) statedthatself- leadershipskillsareadevelopmentinwhichstaffmembersinspirea n d leadthemselvesinordertog ainpreferredmannersandresults.Organizationsneedtoimproveself- leadershipskillsfortheiremployeesinordertobringbackthebestperformance.Inaddition,self- leadershipskillsarepositivelyeffectonIWB(Carmeli&Weisberg,2006).
ThereweremanypriorstudiesexaminedtheimpactofdifferentstylesofleadershiponIWB inawiderangeofindustriesincludinginformationtechnology(IT)serviceindustry.However,inthe contextofdevelopingcountrylikeVietnam,thereisstillagapinresearchonleadershipinaspecifici ndustrysuchasITserviceindustry.
Additionally,ITserviceindustryisgrowingsignificantlyinVietnamwithhighproductivity.Moreo ver,Vietnamhasbecomeoneofthemostattractivenationswheref o r e i g n ITinvestorswanttoout sourcetheirservice,softwarerenderandsolutionsb ecau se oflowpaidsalarywithhighqualityworkf orce.Additionally,accordingtother e p o r t bythenationalworkforcemasterplan(Vietnamlackshig h- qualityITworkforce,2 0 1 6 ) , VietnamneedstoonemillionworkersinITindustryby2020(Vietna mlacksh i g h - q u a l i t y ITworkforce,2016).ThemaindecisivehumanresourcesofITservicei n d u s t r y arethe programmersandITengineerswhomakeoutsoftwareornewsolutionsinordertobringrevenuetoco mpany.Furthermore,thevastmajorityofITworkforceis
8 weakintermofskillssuchasself- studyskills,negotiationskillsandEnglishproficiency.I nfact,theradicalinnovationrequirements,qu ickadaptinginadvancedtechnology,and dynamicenvironmentarethemainbarriers,andrealchallengingforsurvivalofITservicesorganiza tions(Akram,2016).
Hence,IWBinITworkingenvironmentcouldencouragetheiremployees’innovationforbet terperformanceinthemarket,wheretechnologicaladvancementandg l o b a l competitionarethek eythingstosuccessinITindustry.Asaresult,innovationisamaintaskoforganization.Additionally, organizationalsocanreduceemployee’sturnoverrateandsavingbudgetfornewemployeestraining forlongtermbusinessd e v e l o p m e n t (Popescu&Popa,2012).
Hence,theparticularobjectiveoftheresearchistoaddressthecorrelationofself- leadership,participativeleadership,andexternalworkcontactsonIWBinacontextofand e v e l o p i n g country.Inotherwords,theoverallpurposeofthisresearchistoexaminesomeitemsaffectingt heIWBinITserviceproviderindustryinVietnam.Threespecificr e s e a r c h objectivesareshowna sfollow:
Inthestudy,targetintervieweesareemployeeswhoareworkingatITservicei n d us t r y inVi etnam.Theresultoftheresearchwillcontributetofillthegapofthei n fl u e n ce s ofdifferentleadershi ponIWBwithinITservicesindustryinthecontextofVietnam.Thisempiricalresultalsoprovideappli cablesourceformanagersusedasp r e f e r e n c e forservicesoutsourcingmakingdecisionandassi stsmanagersinknowing welltheimportantofIWBintodrivingbusinessmoresuccessfullythroughchoosingappropriatedlea dershipstyleinVietnam.
LITERATUREREVIEWANDHYPOTHESIS
TheeffectofParticipativeleadershiponIWB
AccordingtoYukl(2002),theparticipativeleadershipistheprocessinwhichleadersresponsiblef orguiding,controlling,andthenallowingtheiremployeestojoinmakingimportantdecisionwitht heirleaders.Whenparticipateleadershipisconductedbyleaders,thereisanincreasingconcerna ndparticipateofemployees(SaxandTorp,2 0 1 5 ) Indeed,leadersplayavitalandsignificant roleinmanagingefficientlythew o r k i n g placeenvironment,wheretheleadersmightprovidethe iremployeeswiths uf f i ci e n t amountofvaluableinformationandfeedbacks(Durham,Knighta ndLocke.
1997).Hence,theleader’sroleisveryimportanttomotivatetheiremployeesfore n h a n c i n g thequ alityoutcomesofteammembers.However,theleadersalsoguidetheiremployeestheirowntaskwithi ncertainlimits.Moreover,Yukl(2002)alsofoundthatp a r t i c i p a t i v e leadershipcantakeinform ssuchasconference,delegationandcooperativedetermination making.Axtelletal.
(2000)foundthatparticipationrelatepositivelyonemployees’innovativebehavior,andthelevelofth erelationshipisevaluatedbyself- r a t i n g s ofemployees’proposalandimplementationattempts.Indeed,asaresult,employeeswillre alizetheirvaluableroleincontributingforthedevelopmentoftheo r g a n i z a t i o n Moreover,empl oyeesalsoknowtheyarerespectedfromleadersfortheirw e l l performances.Hence,onehypothesisi sproposedasbelow:
TheeffectofExternalWorkcontactsonIWB
External work contacts play a crucial role in influencing innovative work behavior (IWB) According to Kimberly and Evanisko (1981) and Kasperson (1978), these contacts, which can include individuals or groups such as customers, professors, or scientists, significantly enhance employee motivation Engaging with external contacts allows employees to gain diverse perspectives and ideas from various industries, fostering innovation in the workplace This interaction not only motivates employees but also helps them identify effective solutions to enhance their innovation efforts Furthermore, there is a clear link between IWB and social interaction, highlighting the importance of collaboration beyond organizational boundaries.
Theeffectofself-leadershipskillsonIWB
Aprocesswhichmotivates,leads,andguidesemployeestoattainrequisitionbehaviors,a n d achievi ngqualifiedresultsisself-leadership.Similarly,Manz(1992)statedthatself- leadershipisaninfluence- relatedprocessinwhichindividualsmotivateandleadthemselvestowardsinordertoachievetargetbe haviorsandoutcomes.LathemandLocke( 1 9 9 1 ) &FurtnerandRauthmann(2011)studiedthatself - leadershipskillsneedthreecomplimentarycognitive,andbehaviorstrategiesinordertohelpemplo yeesa c c o m p l i s h e d innovativemotivationintotheirworks,threefollowingitemsarebehavior- f o c u s e d strategies;naturalrewardstrategies;andconstructivethoughtpatternstrategies.
Firstofall,behavior- focusedstrategiesisastrategyinwhichtheemployeesavoida n d correctmistakesastheyoccurredso thatenhancingtheirself- consciousnessandthem a n a g e m e n t ofessentialbehaviors(Manz,1992;Neck&Manz,2007).Se condly,naturalr e w a r d s strategiesareastrategyinwhichtheemployeesreceivedrewardwhencom pletingtheirtasks,throughwhichtheemployeesfeelmotivateandincreasetheirw o r k performance( Manz,1992;Neck&Manz,2007).Lastly,Carmeli(2006)statedthatconstructivethoughtpatternstra tegiesisastrategyinwhich“individualsmayaltertheirthoughtpatternstocreateopportunitiesdurin ghardesttime,ratherthanthinkingaboutthed i f f i c u l t i e s cameasunexpectedobstacles”.
Insummary,participativeleadership,externalworkcontacts,andself- leadershipskillsarethreevariableswhichexpecttohavepositiveinfluenceonIWB.Thesefactors concentrateonbringingthebetterinfluenceofdifferentleadershipstyleoncreatingtheinnovationo femployeesatworkingplace.
METHODOLOGY
ProcedureandSample
Int h e t h e s i s , t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y s e r v i c e t r a d i n g i n V i e t n a m w a s c h o s e n t o c o n d u c t inthisstudyduetoitshighest potentialdynamicmarket.Basedonthat situation,a pilotstudy wasconductedfirstly toexamine thefeasibility ofanappro achforbetteru s e d inlargerscale.Secondly,themainsurveywasconductedimmediat elyafterapilotst ud y checkedsuccessfully.
Targetr e s p o n d e n t s o f t h i s s t u d y a r e e m p l o y e e s f r o m I T firms,a n d t e c h n o l o g y o r g a n i z a t i o n suchasHarveyNashVietnam,KMSTechnologyInc,LuvinaSoftwar eJSC,IntelJSC,SamsungLimitedCompany,Orientsoft,TMASolutions,USOLVietnam Co.,L t d NTT Data VietnamCo.,Ltd.,VMGMedia, ELCOMCorp.,HanelSoft, ITSOL,MKSmart,EgameJSC inordertoensurethatourresultsisreflectedaccuratelyt h e i n f l u e n c e ofIWBwithinITfirms.
Intermofthequestionnairedesign,itwasorganizedintotwopartstoobtainthemajorinform ation.Thefirstpartinquiresrespondent’sdemographicsdetailedi n f o r m a t i o n suchasgender,age,i ncomelevel.Theinformationcanbeclassifiedandcomparegroupofparticipants.Inthesecondsectio nofthequestionnaire,ordinalscaleisu s e d asameasurementwithLikertscales,whichweredevelo pedbypreviousresearchers, toadequatelycapturethedomainoftheconstructs.Itwasdeveloped asav a l i d andreliablescalecreatedParticipativeleadership(6items)(Jong&Hartog,2010),
ExternalWorkContacts(5items)(Jong&Hartog,2010),IWB(5items)
(Jong&Hartog,2010)includingthreesecond-orderconstructsnamely:b e h a v i o r - f o c u s e d strategies,naturalrewardstrategies,c o n s t r u c t i v e thoughtpatterns.Inordertoavoi drespondedbias,allconcepts’nameswaseliminatedfromthequestionnaire,totalquestionsweredis playedcontinuouslyinonetable.Thedetailsoftheconstructsareshowedintable1.
Regardingthesamplesize,thisresearchrequiresthesizeofsamplebigenoughtoe n su r e stat isticalsignificant.AccordingtoHatcheretal.
(1994),minimalsamplingusedinstatisticalanalysisshouldbeequaltoorgreaterthanfivetimesofn umberofindependentvariables,andnotlessthan100togeneratereliableresults. n>0andn>=5k(wherekisthenumberofvariables)
Thisstudyconsistedof28variables,asresult,thenecessarysamplesizerequiredtor unEFAshouldbe:28*50observations.
The pilot survey was initially conducted using qualitative methods to ensure respondents had the right intentions for the main survey, with the author aiming to test the suitability of the scale and questionnaires for research in Vietnam This pilot study involved 15 respondents during the first week of May 2017, utilizing in-depth interviews Additionally, further questionnaires were developed to gain deeper insights into the barriers faced in quantitative surveys Screening questions were also included to confirm that participants belonged to the appropriate target group After the pilot survey, the author collected and incorporated feedback from interviewees, resulting in a finalized questionnaire for the main survey, consisting of a total of 28 questions.
Afterc o n d u c t i n g q u a l i t a t i v e r e s e a r c h , m a i n s u r v e y i n c l u d i n g 4 0 0 q u e s t i o n n a i r e formsw a s s e n t tor e s p o n d e n t s u s i n g m a i l surveya n d o n l i n e s u r v e y m e t h o d s f o r c o s t consumingsavingandconvenient Themethodallows manyrespondentstobesurveysins h o r t time.Themainsurveywasconductedfromthelast weekofMay2017.Thetotalnumbersof400respondentswereselectedfrom15ITservice organizationsinVietnamand t h e r e a s o n o f c h o o s i n g t h e s e c o m p a n i e s i s t h a t theya r e b i g c o m p a n y a n d h a d a particularc o n t r i b u t i o n t o V i e t n a m e c o n o m y Ther e s u l t s s h o w e d t h a t 3 9 3 p a r t i c i p a n t s an swered t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e s v i a email.A f t e r d e d u c t i n g 2 7 u n q u a l i f i e d q u e s t i o n n a i r e s therewere369sampl esselected.Thedeletedquestionnairesincluding12questionnairesincompleteand15quest ionnairesinwhichtheparticipantshaveonlyoneanswerforallq u e s t i o n s
Among369participants,therewasaslightcontrastamongstfemaleandmaleIT w o r k e r s with127(34.41%)femaleITemployeesand242(65.6%)maleITemployee s.T h e r e weretwoagegroupsinthisstudy:237(64%)ITemployeeswhowerefrom22to3 0 ; and132(36%)ITemployeeswiththeagefrom31tomorethan35.Furthermore,theo v er v i e w r e s u l t u n c o v e r e d t h a t 4 3 ( 1 1 6 % ) I T employeesh o l d i n g c o l l e g e l e v e l
; 2 0 1 (54.5%)ITemployeeshavingbachelorleveland125(33.9%)havingadvanceddegree. Intermoftheinvolvementintheirworkingplace,therewere133(36.1%)respondentsh avi ng 1tolessthan3 yearworkingin ITs e r v i ce s industry, 236( 63 9 %) responde ntsh av in g from3tomorethan5yearsinITserviceindustry.
Toanalyzet h e r e l a t i o n s h i p a m o n g p a r t i c i p a t i v e l e a d e r s h i p , e x t e r n a l w o r k s c o n t a c t s andself- leadershipskills, thecollecteddatawasinputintotheS P S S softwarev e r s i o n 20
.Then,Cronbach'sAlphaandExploratoryf a c t o r Analysis(EFA)wouldindicatethevalida tionandreliabilityofstudymeasurementscales.Atthatpoint, CFA wasu s e d t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e t h e measurementv a r i a b l e s a n d r e l i a b l y , i t w a s r e f l e c t e d t h e h y p o t h e s i z e d latentvariables.Astructuralequationmodeling(SEM)withlatentva riablesw a s u s e d fortestingthesufficiencyofthemodelandtestthetheoriesmoreaccuratelybyu s i n g AMOSsoftwareversion20.
Measurementscales
Sixconstructswereanalyzedinthisstudyincluding:Participativeleadership,externalw o r k contacts,s elf-leadershipskill,behavior- focusedstrategies,naturalrewardstrategies,andconstructivethoughtpatterns.Thedesignedmainqu estionnairewasu t i l i z e d withthevastmajorityofthedetailhavingbeenproducedfromvariouss ourcesinp a s t branchofknowledge.Inaddition,thesurveywaspre- testwiththeparticipationfromf e w ITemployeesforenhancingthelegitimacy,andclearness.Theg atheredinformationf r o m pre- testwasnotutilizedasapartoftheanalysisofstudy.Thescaleitemsofeachf a c t o r asperthefollowin g:
Behaviorfocusedstrategiesweremeasuredbyfouritemswhichwerelookedover18d etailthatinfluencedIWBoffieldofinvestigationofH o u g h t o n andNeck(2002).T heitemswereproducedparticularlyforVietnameseconditioninviewoftheresultsoft hepilotstudylighte x a m i n a t i o n Theoutcomefromthepilotstudyshowthatthevi talofr e l u c t a n c e inadministrationessentialbehavioralabilitiesmakeworkerneed tohavesomeinventivemattertomaketheiremploymenteasily.For instance,arespondentcommunicatedherownsuppositionabouttheirworkp r o c e s s asdescribe:"Ideliberatelyhaveobjectiveinsetouttowardmyen d e a v o r s; Ip rogressinthedirectionofparticularobjectiveIhavesetformyself".Sothat,afterth efouritemswereutilized:"Iestablishspecificg o a l s formyownperformance"," WhenIdoanassignmentespeciallyw e ll , Iliketotreatmyselftosomethingoractivi tyIespeciallyenjoy","ItendtogetdownonmyselfinmymindwhenIhaveperforme dpoorly","ImakeapointtokeeptrackofhowwellI'mdoingatwork".
Naturalrewardstrategiesweremeasuredbyfouritemswhichwereb o r r o w e d fro mfiveitemsthatinfluencedIWB(Houghton&Neck,2002).
Finally,innovativeworkbehaviorwasmeasuredbyfiveitemsutilizingf r o m Kl eysenandStreet(2001).Itdemonstratedhowregularlyr epr esent ati v es play outthoseimaginativeworkpracticesintheiroffice.
Allitemswerefive-pointLikert- sortscalerunningwith1=stronglydisagreeand5 = s t r o n g l y agree.Thequestionnairewaswritteni nitiallyinEnglish.Afterward,anotherq u e s t i o n n a i r e versionwasmadeinVietnameseforalltarg etrespondents.Fromthatpointo n w a r d , backinterpretationwasattemptedtorearrange.Thequestio nnairewascomprisedo f threesections:individualselectiveinformation,mainquestions,anddemogra phici n f o r m a t i o n
Behavior- f ocu sed strat egies
Reward3 WhenIhaveachoice,Itrytoworkhardrath er than justtryingtogetitoverwith.
Innovative1 Ioftenfindchancestoenhanceacurrentpractice,m achinery,product,serviceorworkr e l a t i o n s h i p
Innovative2 Inmycurrentjob,Ioftenperceivechancestomakea dicisivechangeofmyobjective,b r a n ch , systems, orwithclients.
Innovative3 Inmycurrentjob,Ifocustonon- routineissuesinyourwork,division,ormarketpla
Innovative5 Inmycurrentjob,Idetermineissuemorelar gel y f orachivinggreaterinsightintothem.
DATAANALYSISANDRESULT
Measurevalidation
Afterinformationgatheringwasfinished,theStatisticalPackageforSocialSciences( S P S S ) an dSPSSAMOS20.0wereutilizedtobreakdown.Firstly,thereliabilitytestsC ro n b a ch 's Alphaa ndEFA(exploratoryfactoranalysis)wereconnectedtothei n f o r m a t i o n ofthefundamentalr eview(n69)fordirectingapreparatorytrialofther e l i a b i l i t y andvalidityofthescalestoqu antifythebuild.Furthermore,CFA( C o n f i r m a t o r y factoranalysis)wasconductedtoinv estigateifthemodelisfit.
Finally,SEM(structuralequationmodeling)isusedtotestthecorrelationbetweenlatent,o b s e r v e d varia blesandhypotheses.
ForthefirstrunningtheCronbach'salpha,theoutcomesdemonstratedthatallofC r o n b a c h ' s alph asresultsofthescalesweregreaterthan0.6(from0.790to0.937).
Alongtheselines,theitemwaserasedtorunthesecondtimeofCronbach'salphas.Inthesecondrunni ng,theoutcomeswerebetterduetothehigherCronbach'salphas(from0.812to0.939)forsixconstru cts,meaningallmeasureshadgoodreliability.
Olkin(KMO)andBartlett'strialofSphericity.Thecomponentinvestigationisviewedassuitablew hentheKMOo u g h t tobefrom0.5to1,andthecriticalofBartlett'stestoughttobelittlerthan0.05.
- Factorswhichareuncorrelatedanddistinctisdiscriminantvalidity,itisdeterminedbytw omethods.Usingofpatternmatrixisthefirstmethod.Inthismethod,e a c h variableshouldloado nonefactor.Ifonefactorhavemultiplevariablesitiscross-loadings,sothecross- loadingsshouldbemorethan0.2(Tabachnich&Fidell,2007).Inpatternmatrixappendix,thereis nocross-loadingssituation.Usingfactorcorrelation matrixappendixisthesecondmethodfordeterminingdiscriminantvalidity.Inthismethod,correlati onamongfactorsshouldlowerthan0.7(Tabachnich&Fidell,2007).
Next,atechniquetoevaluateEFArelationshiptobeimplicated.Inthisexploration,EFAisco nnectedtotestthemodelwithTheKaiser-Meyer-
Olkin(KMO)a n d Bartlett'sresultsbyutilizingthePrincipalAxisFactoringwithPromaxrevolution. TheBarlettresultwithsignificantvalueofSig.=.000(p
