Study On The Relationship Of Organizations Of Innovation Climate, Individual Learning Ability, Organizational Commitment, And Individual Innovative Behavior

Innovation is a key source of organizational competence, therefore, an increasingnumber of enterprises regard it as a key point to spur and maintain the organization’innovative capabilities. However, in practice, not all of the organization whichencourage innovation can achieve their expected effect. Even inside the organizationwhich takes the identical measure to encourage innovation, different departments andemployees tend to show different innovation enthusiam and performances. Thereexist multiple intermediate variables that cannot be ignored. Like the “S-O-R” modelof psychology (environmental stimulus-organism-response)(Woodworth，1918；Tolman,1932)，individual motivation, ability, attitude and emotion determinewhether it has the important premise of innovation behavior variables.In the existing literatures, the significant values of organizational innovationhave been revealed. Only those organizations who are good at studying andinnovation can survive in the changable environment.(Garvin,1993；Sense；1995；Chenguoquan and Mameng，2001). Organiation’s innovation can be divided into threelayers: organizational layer, team layer, and individual layer, and the last oneconstitutes the foundation and source of organizational innovation.（Woodman,Sawyer and Griffin，1993） Organizational innovation is based on individualinnovation behavior, and will eventually be implemented in each employee’s actions.Staff’s innovation behavior is the most important factor in an organization ininnovation (Ambile,1988). Extensive research validated the direct effect oforganizational innovation climate to individual innovation behavior（Amabile，1990；Woodman,1996；Shally, Cilson and Blum,2000；Zhou and Shalley,2003； Zhenmeirong，Pengjisheng and Yngjingzhao,2012）Organizational innovative climateis the individual’s perception on the supporting degree of innovation in his workingenvironment. It has become an interesting research field for morden scholors tofurther study on such topics as: how organizational innovation climate works on theemployees’ innovative conducts, what the principle of its function is, and an attemptto develop a medium variant between organizational innovative climate andindividual’ innovative conducts. The medium variants that have already beenidentified are: positive mood（Mad jar, Oldham,2002；Madjar，2002）, negative mood（George and Zhou,2007；Gasper,2003；Kaufmann,2003；George and Zhou,2002；Schwarz,2002；Kaufmann and Voshurg,1997；Martin and Stoner,1996；Martinet，1993）；psychological safety（Gengxin，Shijintao and Niypanqiang，2011）, corporatesocial responsibility(Yangfan,2008); individual’s mental authority(Liuyun,2011;Chenxiao,2006), individual’s goal-orientation, and psychological capital(Zhenmeirong, Pengjisheng and Yangjizhao,2012). From some perspectives, thosevariants reveal the internal mechanism of individual’s innovative conducts in anorganizational environment where innovation is encouraged. However, so far, it hasnot been analyzed in depth from the perspective of individual’s competence andattitude.This research is based on the theories of organizational learning, socialexchanges theory, social study and the psychological theories about medium variantspresented by Tolman and Woodworth. Based on individual ability and attitude, thisstudy refines two important intermediary variables affecting organizationalinnovation climate and individual innovation behavior: Individual learning ability andorganizational commitment. The individual ability is to adapt to the externalenvironment change, unceasingly to acquire knowledge and information, andimproves its cognition pattern and the behavior through the full practice, then obtainsthe ability to survive and develop (Chengguoquan,2008). Organizationalcommitment means one state that a person is willing to stay for an organization. It canbe divided into affective commitment which is positive and continuance commitmentwhich is negative. Affective commitment refers to the individual emotional attachment to the organization. It comes from the identification of the organizationalgoals, norms and values. While continuance commitment refer to an individual’sperception of the costs and risk to leave the job. It is from the worry about the loss ofleaving the job and the lack to choice opportunity.(Meyer and Allen，1984，1990，1991，1993).In this study, we conducted in-depth interviews to confirm the rationality andadaptability. And then to revise the questionnaire through pretest. Data from samplesof715subjects were analyzed through the software of SPSS16.0and AMOS17.0. Thesamples are from different regions and industry of the different sex, age, educationbackground and post level. The result confirms the hypothesis of the intermediationof individual learning ability. It revealed that affective commitment is the interveningvariable between organization innovation climate and individual innovation behavior.It is a novel research.The conclusion of this research has some theoretical and practical significance.The theoretical contributions are: this study structures the theoretical modelbased on the affective commitment and individual learning ability. Opening one blackbox that both theory and practice field all pay close attention to that the behaviormechanism of employee innovation. Proved that both individual learning ability andemotional commitment are the dependent variable of the individual innovationbehavior. The theoretical discussion is made further into dividing the organizationalcommitment into emotional commitment and continuous commitment. Analysis anddiscussion are carried on to the different effect in the process in the organizationoperation. It points out that in the theorists especially in some organizational behaviortext book some vague definition should be revised about organizational commitment.The organizational commitment and emotional commitment should be distinguishedinto two concepts. Using interdisciplinary research method, the research on individuallearning capability is made deeper under the frame of organizational learning, and afoundation is laid for further development of organizational learning in the individuallayer.The contributions to management practice are: prompt the manager to change thefocus from the individual innovation behavior and result to how to form organizational innovation climate. Methods and Suggestions are presented to buildthe organizational innovation climate; the managers are suggested that they payattention to the nurturing of employees’ positive emotional commitment anddeveloping the employees’ individual learning capabilities to spur the individual’sinnovative conducts. The manager should be good at identifying the commitmentstate of staff. To those who work in our organization based on continuancecommitment and those who “have to” stay in our organization, we should give themthe help and the education timely, or sack them. Managers should broaden the train ofthought, and on the basis of employee training, improve the employee competence ofadaptation, survival and development in the changing environment both inside andoutside of the organization. Ideas and suggestions are provided, too.