Innovative work behavior: A bibliometric analysis and future research opportunities

Nina Farliana; Muhammad Feriady; Maulana Amirul Adha; Hanifia Arlinda

doi:10.31893/multirev.2026512

Keywords:

Abstract

Innovation, especially employee innovative work behavior (IWB), plays a vital role in improving organizational performance by developing and implementing new ideas. This study aims to analyze the research trends on IWB using a bibliometric approach to identify publication patterns, leading authors, countries, and institutions, and provide directions for future research. This study uses a bibliometric analysis of Scopus data (2015-2025) using keywords such as "innovative work behavior," "employee innovative behavior," or "individual innovation." A total of 1,556 articles were obtained and analyzed using VOSviewer to evaluate productivity, research trends, and intellectual networks related to employee innovative work behavior. The results of this study show a positive trend in publications on IWB during 2015–2025, totaling 1,556 publications, peaking in 2024 with 371. China leads as the most productive country, followed by Pakistan and Indonesia, indicating the Asian region's dominance in this study. Regarding individual productivity, Afsar, B. stands out with 22 publications, while Hazara University, Pakistan, is the top institution with 27 publications. Innovative work behavior, innovation, human psychological empowerment, and human experiment are the main areas of this research. Future research is expected to address methodological gaps, integrate individual and organizational factors, and explore the impact of IWBs across sectors, including education and industry.
References
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2. Afsar, B., Masood, M., & Umrani, W. A. (2019). The role of job crafting and knowledge sharing on the effect of transformational leadership on innovative work behavior. Personnel Review, 48(5), 1186–1208. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2018-0133
3. Al-Ghazali, B. M., & Afsar, B. (2021). Investigating the mechanism linking task conflict with employees’ innovative work behavior. International Journal of Conflict Management, 32(4), 599–625. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-07-2020-0119
4. Cancino, C. A., Merigó, J. M., & Coronado, F. C. (2017). A bibliometric analysis of leading universities in innovation research. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 2(3), 106–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2017.03.006
5. Chen, L., Li, M., Wu, Y. J., & Chen, C. (2021). The voicer’s reactions to voice: An examination of employee voice on perceived organizational status and subsequent innovative behavior in the workplace. Personnel Review, 50(4), 1073–1092. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-07-2019-0399
6. Durieux, V., & Gevenois, P. A. (2010). Bibliometric indicators: Quality measurements of scientific publication. Radiology, 255(2), 342–351. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.09090626
7. Farhan, M., & Iqbal, M. K. (2021). Twenty years of sustainable supply chain: Past trends and future research suggestions. International Journal of Business and Psychology, 3(1), 1–16.
8. Farrukh, M., Meng, F., Raza, A., & Wu, Y. (2023). Innovative work behaviour: The what, where, who, how and when. Personnel Review, 52(1), 74–98. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-11-2020-0854
9. Farrukh, M., Meng, F., Wu, Y., & Nawaz, K. (2020). Twenty‐eight years of business strategy and the environment research: A bibliometric analysis. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(6), 2572–2582. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2521
10. Gao, P., Meng, F., Mata, M. N., Martins, J. M., Iqbal, S., Correia, A. B., … & Farrukh, M. (2021). Trends and future research in electronic marketing: A bibliometric analysis of twenty years. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(5), 1667–1679. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer16050094
11. Gao, S., Meng, F., Gu, Z., Liu, Z., & Farrukh, M. (2021). Mapping and clustering analysis on environmental, social and governance field: A bibliometric analysis using Scopus. Sustainability, 13(13), 7304. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137304
12. Grošelj, M., Černe, M., Penger, S., & Grah, B. (2021). Authentic and transformational leadership and innovative work behaviour: The moderating role of psychological empowerment. European Journal of Innovation Management, 24(3), 677–706. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-10-2019-0294
13. Gu, Z., Meng, F., & Farrukh, M. (2021). Mapping the research on knowledge transfer: A scientometrics approach. IEEE Access, 9, 34647–34659. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3061576
14. Gupta, V. (2020). Relationships between leadership, motivation and employee-level innovation: Evidence from India. Personnel Review, 49(7), 1363–1379. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-11-2019-0595
15. Heyduk, R. G., & Fenigstein, A. (1984). Influential works and authors in psychology: A survey of eminent psychologists. American Psychologist, 39(5), 556. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.39.5.556
16. Hussain, T., Iren, P., & Rice, J. (2020). Determinants of innovative behaviors among self-initiated expatriates. Personnel Review, 49(2), 349–369. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-09-2018-0321
17. Janssen, O., Van de Vliert, E., & West, M. (2004). The bright and dark sides of individual and group innovation: A special issue introduction. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(2), 129–145. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.242
18. Khan, A. N., Moin, M. F., Khan, N. A., & Zhang, C. (2022). A multistudy analysis of abusive supervision and social network service addiction on employee’s job engagement and innovative work behaviour. Creativity and Innovation Management, 31(1), 77–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12481
19. Kmieciak, R. (2021). Critical reflection and innovative work behavior: The mediating role of individual unlearning. Personnel Review, 50(2), 439–459. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-10-2018-0406
20. Li, M., & Hsu, C. H. (2016). A review of employee innovative behavior in services. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(12), 2820–2841. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2015-0214
21. Mansoor, A., Farrukh, M., Wu, Y., & Abdul Wahab, S. (2021). Does inclusive leadership incite innovative work behavior? Human Systems Management, 40(1), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.3233/HSM-200972
22. Maqbool, S., Černe, M., & Bortoluzzi, G. (2019). Micro-foundations of innovation: Employee silence, perceived time pressure, flow and innovative work behaviour. European Journal of Innovation Management, 22(1), 125–145. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-01-2018-0013
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24. Rey-Martí, A., Ribeiro-Soriano, D., & Palacios-Marqués, D. (2016). A bibliometric analysis of social entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Research, 69(5), 1651–1655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.10.033
25. Ritter, B. A. (2015). The 100 most cited articles in business and management education research. Organization Management Journal, 12(3), 153–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/15416518.2015.1082400
26. Santos, L. B. D., & De Domenico, S. M. R. (2015). Person-organization fit: Bibliometric study and research agenda. European Business Review, 27(6), 573–592. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-04-2015-0038
27. Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (1994). Determinants of innovative behavior: A path model of individual innovation in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 580–607. https://doi.org/10.5465/256701
28. Shahzad, I. A., Farrukh, M., Wu, Y., & Trunk, N. (2021). Human systems management: A retrospective of 40 years. Human Systems Management, 40(1), 15–30. https://doi.org/10.3233/HSM-200999
29. Shakil, R. M., Memon, M. A., & Ting, H. (2023). Inclusive leadership and innovative work behaviour: The mediating role of job autonomy. Quality & Quantity, 57(4), 707–721. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-021-01102-0
30. Small, H. (1973). Co‐citation in the scientific literature: A new measure of the relationship between two documents. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 24(4), 265–269. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.4630240406
31. Sudibjo, N., & Prameswari, R. K. (2021). The effects of knowledge sharing and person–organization fit on the relationship between transformational leadership on innovative work behavior. Heliyon, 7(6), e07334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07334
32. Suominen, A., Seppänen, M., & Dedehayir, O. (2019). A bibliometric review on innovation systems and ecosystems: A research agenda. European Journal of Innovation Management, 22(2), 335–360. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-12-2017-0188
33. Wojtczuk-Turek, A., & Turek, D. (2015). Innovative behaviour in the workplace: The role of HR flexibility, individual flexibility and psychological capital: The case of Poland. European Journal of Innovation Management, 18(3), 397–419. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-03-2014-0027
34. Zhang, Y., & Yang, F. (2021). How and when spiritual leadership enhances employee innovative behavior. Personnel Review, 50(2), 596–609. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-07-2019-0346
35. Zreen, A., Farrukh, M., & Kanwal, N. (2021). Do HR practices facilitate innovative work behaviour? Empirical evidence from higher education institutes. Human Systems Management, 40(5), 701–710. https://doi.org/10.3233/HSM-201001
36. Zupic, I., & Čater, T. (2015). Bibliometric methods in management and organization. Organizational Research Methods, 18(3), 429–472. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428114562629

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to cite

Farliana, N., Feriady, M., Adha, M. A., & Arlinda, H. (2026). Innovative work behavior: A bibliometric analysis and future research opportunities. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 9(10), 2026512. https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2026512

[1] Afsar, B., Al-Ghazali, B. M., Cheema, S., & Javed, F. (2021). Cultural intelligence and innovative work behavior: The role of work engagement and interpersonal trust. European Journal of Innovation Management, 24(4), 1082–1109. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-01-2020-0008

[2] Afsar, B., Masood, M., & Umrani, W. A. (2019). The role of job crafting and knowledge sharing on the effect of transformational leadership on innovative work behavior. Personnel Review, 48(5), 1186–1208. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2018-0133

[3] Al-Ghazali, B. M., & Afsar, B. (2021). Investigating the mechanism linking task conflict with employees’ innovative work behavior. International Journal of Conflict Management, 32(4), 599–625. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-07-2020-0119

[4] Cancino, C. A., Merigó, J. M., & Coronado, F. C. (2017). A bibliometric analysis of leading universities in innovation research. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 2(3), 106–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2017.03.006

[5] Chen, L., Li, M., Wu, Y. J., & Chen, C. (2021). The voicer’s reactions to voice: An examination of employee voice on perceived organizational status and subsequent innovative behavior in the workplace. Personnel Review, 50(4), 1073–1092. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-07-2019-0399

[6] Durieux, V., & Gevenois, P. A. (2010). Bibliometric indicators: Quality measurements of scientific publication. Radiology, 255(2), 342–351. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.09090626

[7] Farhan, M., & Iqbal, M. K. (2021). Twenty years of sustainable supply chain: Past trends and future research suggestions. International Journal of Business and Psychology, 3(1), 1–16.

[8] Farrukh, M., Meng, F., Raza, A., & Wu, Y. (2023). Innovative work behaviour: The what, where, who, how and when. Personnel Review, 52(1), 74–98. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-11-2020-0854

[9] Farrukh, M., Meng, F., Wu, Y., & Nawaz, K. (2020). Twenty‐eight years of business strategy and the environment research: A bibliometric analysis. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(6), 2572–2582. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2521

[10] Gao, P., Meng, F., Mata, M. N., Martins, J. M., Iqbal, S., Correia, A. B., … & Farrukh, M. (2021). Trends and future research in electronic marketing: A bibliometric analysis of twenty years. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(5), 1667–1679. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer16050094

[11] Gao, S., Meng, F., Gu, Z., Liu, Z., & Farrukh, M. (2021). Mapping and clustering analysis on environmental, social and governance field: A bibliometric analysis using Scopus. Sustainability, 13(13), 7304. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137304

[12] Grošelj, M., Černe, M., Penger, S., & Grah, B. (2021). Authentic and transformational leadership and innovative work behaviour: The moderating role of psychological empowerment. European Journal of Innovation Management, 24(3), 677–706. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-10-2019-0294

[13] Gu, Z., Meng, F., & Farrukh, M. (2021). Mapping the research on knowledge transfer: A scientometrics approach. IEEE Access, 9, 34647–34659. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3061576

[14] Gupta, V. (2020). Relationships between leadership, motivation and employee-level innovation: Evidence from India. Personnel Review, 49(7), 1363–1379. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-11-2019-0595

[15] Heyduk, R. G., & Fenigstein, A. (1984). Influential works and authors in psychology: A survey of eminent psychologists. American Psychologist, 39(5), 556. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.39.5.556

[16] Hussain, T., Iren, P., & Rice, J. (2020). Determinants of innovative behaviors among self-initiated expatriates. Personnel Review, 49(2), 349–369. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-09-2018-0321

[17] Janssen, O., Van de Vliert, E., & West, M. (2004). The bright and dark sides of individual and group innovation: A special issue introduction. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(2), 129–145. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.242

[18] Khan, A. N., Moin, M. F., Khan, N. A., & Zhang, C. (2022). A multistudy analysis of abusive supervision and social network service addiction on employee’s job engagement and innovative work behaviour. Creativity and Innovation Management, 31(1), 77–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12481

[19] Kmieciak, R. (2021). Critical reflection and innovative work behavior: The mediating role of individual unlearning. Personnel Review, 50(2), 439–459. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-10-2018-0406

[20] Li, M., & Hsu, C. H. (2016). A review of employee innovative behavior in services. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(12), 2820–2841. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2015-0214

[21] Mansoor, A., Farrukh, M., Wu, Y., & Abdul Wahab, S. (2021). Does inclusive leadership incite innovative work behavior? Human Systems Management, 40(1), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.3233/HSM-200972

[22] Maqbool, S., Černe, M., & Bortoluzzi, G. (2019). Micro-foundations of innovation: Employee silence, perceived time pressure, flow and innovative work behaviour. European Journal of Innovation Management, 22(1), 125–145. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-01-2018-0013

[23] Matcharashvili, T., Tsveraidze, Z., Sborshchikovi, A., & Matcharashvili, T. (2014). The importance of bibliometric indicators for the analysis of research performance in Georgia. TRAMES: A Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, 18(4), 345.

[24] Rey-Martí, A., Ribeiro-Soriano, D., & Palacios-Marqués, D. (2016). A bibliometric analysis of social entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Research, 69(5), 1651–1655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.10.033

[25] Ritter, B. A. (2015). The 100 most cited articles in business and management education research. Organization Management Journal, 12(3), 153–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/15416518.2015.1082400

[26] Santos, L. B. D., & De Domenico, S. M. R. (2015). Person-organization fit: Bibliometric study and research agenda. European Business Review, 27(6), 573–592. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-04-2015-0038

[27] Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (1994). Determinants of innovative behavior: A path model of individual innovation in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 580–607. https://doi.org/10.5465/256701

[28] Shahzad, I. A., Farrukh, M., Wu, Y., & Trunk, N. (2021). Human systems management: A retrospective of 40 years. Human Systems Management, 40(1), 15–30. https://doi.org/10.3233/HSM-200999

[29] Shakil, R. M., Memon, M. A., & Ting, H. (2023). Inclusive leadership and innovative work behaviour: The mediating role of job autonomy. Quality & Quantity, 57(4), 707–721. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-021-01102-0

[30] Small, H. (1973). Co‐citation in the scientific literature: A new measure of the relationship between two documents. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 24(4), 265–269. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.4630240406

[31] Sudibjo, N., & Prameswari, R. K. (2021). The effects of knowledge sharing and person–organization fit on the relationship between transformational leadership on innovative work behavior. Heliyon, 7(6), e07334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07334

[32] Suominen, A., Seppänen, M., & Dedehayir, O. (2019). A bibliometric review on innovation systems and ecosystems: A research agenda. European Journal of Innovation Management, 22(2), 335–360. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-12-2017-0188

[33] Wojtczuk-Turek, A., & Turek, D. (2015). Innovative behaviour in the workplace: The role of HR flexibility, individual flexibility and psychological capital: The case of Poland. European Journal of Innovation Management, 18(3), 397–419. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-03-2014-0027

[34] Zhang, Y., & Yang, F. (2021). How and when spiritual leadership enhances employee innovative behavior. Personnel Review, 50(2), 596–609. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-07-2019-0346

[35] Zreen, A., Farrukh, M., & Kanwal, N. (2021). Do HR practices facilitate innovative work behaviour? Empirical evidence from higher education institutes. Human Systems Management, 40(5), 701–710. https://doi.org/10.3233/HSM-201001

[36] Zupic, I., & Čater, T. (2015). Bibliometric methods in management and organization. Organizational Research Methods, 18(3), 429–472. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428114562629

Abstract

References

How to cite