Influence of Trait Mindfulness on Proactive Innovation Behavior of Manufacturing Employees: The Mediating Effects of Professional Identity and Thriving at Work

Abstract

In contrast to traditional passive innovation behavior, proactive innovation behavior initiated by employees significantly impacts organizational performance. For manufacturing employees, proactive innovation behavior leads to high-quality innovation outcomes, thereby facilitating the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing sector. Trait mindfulness enhances self-awareness, stimulating intrinsic motivation, and proactive employee behavior. However, research exploring how trait mindfulness affects proactive innovation behavior in manufacturing is still limited. This study, anchored in self determination theory and viewed through intrinsic motivation, develops a chain mediation model whereby trait mindfulness influences proactive innovation through professional identity and thriving at work while examining the moderating role of a caring ethical climate. Utilizing a sample of 536 manufacturing employees, data analysis and hypothesis testing are performed using SPSS and Amos. The findings reveal that (1) trait mindfulness has a positive effect on proactive innovation behavior; (2) professional identity and thriving at work each act as partial mediators between trait mindfulness and proactive innovation behavior and together serve as chain mediators; and (3) a caring ethical climate positively moderates the relationship between trait mindfulness and both professional identity and thriving at work. Finally, management recommendations are proposed based on these empirical findings.

Keywords

trait mindfulness / proactive innovation behavior / professional identity / thriving at work / caring ethical climate

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2024 Higher Education Press