Organizational support theory (Eisenberger et al., 1986) posits that organizational support helps in increasing employees’ well-being, which in turn develops positive perceptions about their employer. Similarly, following the norm of reciprocity, employees who perceive that they receive more support and respect from their organizations are more likely to work well and go an extra-mile for their organizations. This notion is further supported by the socially embedded model of thriving (Spreitzer et al., 2005) which postulates that particular work contexts (i.e., a climate of trust and respect, decision-making discretion) persuade employees’ agentic behaviors which in turn impact on their approach to their jobs. Hence, exhibition of these behaviors, support from the organization and other job resources promote employees’ thriving in the workplace, which plays a pivotal role in their creativity and innovation (Spreitzer et al., 2005; Niessen et al., 2012; Prem et al., 2017; Guan and Frenkel, 2018). Following the norm of reciprocity, when employees get appreciation for their contribution, they perceive that their employer gives them respect and takes care of their well-being (Armeli et al., 1998).

The POS is considered an important job resource from the organization toward its employees, because it helps to fulfill the employees’ need for esteem, affiliation, approval and emotional support (Kurtessis et al., 2017). It has been established in the previous research that higher levels of POS motivate the employees to get involved in voluntary behaviors that are of high benefit for the organizations (Eisenberger et al., 1990; Settoon et al., 1996; Wayne et al., 1997). Similarly, studies have also found that high levels of POS make employees feel obligated to return in the favor of their organization by going an extra mile (Eisenberger and Rhoades, 2001; Rhoades et al., 2001). POS helps in developing the exchange relationship between employees and organizations, which in turn transforms into various tangible and intangible outcomes such as jobs satisfaction, commitment, task performance, and citizenship behaviors (Eisenberger et al., 2002). Further to this argument, one study reported that when organizations show concern for their employees and provide them with honest feedback for their actions, employees are more likely to initiate creative ideas, look for new opportunities, devise solutions for existing and potential problems, and transform their creative input into innovative outcomes (Gregory et al., 2010).

Innovative work behavior is not a one-time discrete activity; rather, it is a continuous process through which employees develop new ideas along with working on their existing ideas and is dependent on developing organizational support (de Jong and Den Hartog, 2007). Therefore, employees are willing to exhibit innovative work behaviors when they perceive strong support from their supervisor and organization, have a high degree of freedom in their work, and the availability of ample resources (Afsar et al., 2016). Fan et al. (2022) found that providing employees with the required innovation resources, and establish comfortable and fair working environment are essential in the chines organizations that seek to promote innovation. It is argued on the basis of the above-described literature that POS helps in convincing employees that they are an integral part of the organization. Therefore, they feel obliged to respond in a similar way to what they receive from their organization. Hence, we postulate the following hypothesis:

In today’s dynamic and ever-changing business environment, innovation is considered to be a key to the success and survival of organizations (Shahzad et al., 2019). Innovation is a broader concept, which encompasses the introduction of new ideas to the existing line of products, processes and numerous other activities (Curado et al., 2018). This helps in improving the employees’ capabilities, which in turn guarantee the success and high marketability of the organization (Seeck and Diehl, 2016). HR practices are considered as a set of practices that include human resource planning, performance management, result-oriented rewards systems, recruitment and selection, learning and development, etc. (Katou and Budhwar, 2015), and these practices help in developing employee developmental behaviors and in turn enhance the organization’s competitive advantage (Jiang et al., 2012).

Human resource is considered as the backbone of any organization. Without having an ample human talent and the associated expertise, it is nearly impossible for an organization to perform well in today’s competitive business context. Therefore, most of the current management literature focuses on the human resource practices (HRPs) to create a fit between the individual and organizational objectives (Ang et al., 2013). High commitment human resources practices (HCHRPs) was used in this study because practicing commitment oriented HRM by the organization will strengthen the employees identification with the organization and encourage them to go an extra mile to achieve its goals (Rubel et al., 2018). Previous research has established a positive relationship between the high-involvement HRPs and contribution of employees toward organizational competitive advantage and innovative capabilities (Huselid, 1995; MacDuffie, 1995; Shahzad et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2022; Than et al., 2023). Extending this line of enquiry, a recent study found that HRPs (i.e., staffing, training, participatory decision making) positively predict innovative work behaviors with the mediating lens of meaningful work (Singh et al., 2021). These HRPs provide a harmonious environment which helps in improving the employees’ skills, participation in decision making, discretionary efforts, as well as inculcating their operative and learning behaviors (Kang et al., 2012; Prieto and Pérez-Santana, 2014). Therefore, HRPs are the contextual characteristics of an organization that motivate employees to exert higher levels of effort in their work and exhibit innovative work behaviors (Prieto and Pérez-Santana, 2014; Shahzad et al., 2019; Noopur and Dhar, 2020).

Human resource practices truly reflect the organizational strategy, intention and employee/organization mutual relationship (Shipton et al., 2017). Hence, these activities are considered to be the job training and career planning practices that ultimately transform into the success of organizations (Zheng et al., 2006). A study reported that merit-based promotion and innovation-based appraisal and compensation encourage the employees to utilize their innovative and creative skills and knowledge to produce and implement the new ideas (Saunila, 2016). Similarly, participation in decision making, job autonomy, and flexible job design positively influence creativity and innovation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) (Baggen et al., 2016). Another study confirmed that job autonomy and participation in decision making enhance the employees’ commitment with their organization and their citizenship behaviors (Byaruhanga and Othuma, 2016). The prevalence of all these practices helps in developing the human capital and to enhance the innovative competencies and motivation, which in turn increases the organizational innovation (Raja and Johns, 2010; Razouk, 2011). In light of the above described literature, we postulate the following hypothesis:

Gender has been chosen as a moderator in this study because of the scarcity of studies on the predictors of the IWB and the impact of gender differences in the context of Middle East. For decades, most of the studies on IWB are conducted in the western context and the assumption is made that the findings will be true to other context as well. However, studies on cross cultural differences negate this concept and identify the cultural differences which might have impact on the behaviors of the people in that context. This is one of the motives of choosing the gender as moderator in this study to fill this essential gap in literature.

Extent research has established that high levels of POS trigger high involvement of employees in voluntary behaviors, which positively impacts on overall organizational performance (Eisenberger et al., 1990; Settoon et al., 1996; Wayne et al., 1997). According to the reciprocity norm and social exchange theory, in the presence of high level of POS, employees are more likely to respond in a positive way toward the organization and are more likely to go an extra mile for the organization (Eisenberger and Rhoades, 2001; Rhoades et al., 2001). However, studies also reported that men and women respond in different ways to a similar context (Sanchez-Franco et al., 2009; Riquelme and Rios, 2010). The gender role theory suggests that men are more likely to have self-esteem-oriented motivation, while women report more communally-oriented motivation (Good and Sanchez, 2010). Using the framework of gender role theory, studies have reported that women prefer to work in a friendly and supportive environment while men are inclined toward higher levels of independence, autonomy, monetary compensation and responsibilities (Schwalbe and Staples, 1991; Buelens and Van den Broeck, 2007; Gentile et al., 2009). Similarly, meta-analytic findings have also confirmed that women are happier to work with other people and help others than their male counterparts (Konrad et al., 2000). A recent study has reported that shop-level high involvement HRM practices are more strongly and positively related to women’s affective commitment (Shin et al., 2020).

Taking the above described findings of the extant literature on the role of gender at workplace one step further, this study strives to explore the role of gender in expanding the POS and HRM practices in the Middle Eastern context. After reviewing the relevant literature on POS, HRM practices and gender role at workplace, it is highly convincing to say that higher POS and HRM practices will trigger the intent of men toward the innovative work behaviors more than their women counterparts. In the Middle East, the culture is highly collectivist, where individuals feel pride in being part of a family and show a higher degree of cohesiveness with their organizations (House et al., 2004; Gupta et al., 2014). In such a collectivistic culture, initiating and taking part in innovative and entrepreneurial activities are highly challenging for women (Ufuk and Özgen, 2001; Nearchou-Ellinas and Kountouris, 2004). A recent meta-analysis of research on gender discrimination/gender gaps in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in the UAE identified a decreasing trend in gender discrimination; however, the authors argued that the issue still exists (Patterson et al., 2020). Extending this line of inquiry, this study argues that prevalence of higher POS and HRM practices will give more autonomy, independence and support to their employees, however men are more likely to exploit these resources and go an extra mile for their organization by showing a higher inclination toward innovative work behaviors. In contrast, women being fewer in number in most of the organizations and having lesser impact in policy making are less likely to exhibit the innovative behaviors. Hence, we postulate the following hypotheses:

To avoid the possibility of having any observed relationships that might impacted by participants’ demographic characteristics, we controlled for employees’ age (in years) and marital status (1 = Married; 2 = Unmarried) because they may account for variation in innovative behavior (Guillén and Kunze, 2019; Yasir and Majid, 2019). Figure 1 below is illustrating the hypothesized relationships in this study.

The UAE is a multicultural country and has a very high influx of expatriates from all around the world in the last few decades (Gaweesh and Haid, 2018). This high influx put enormous pressure on local customs and traditions, however, local people have the capability to maintain their cultural heritage in a successful way (AlMazrouei and Pech, 2015). It is important at this point in time to understand the status of UAE in terms of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. UAE is high on the index of Power Distance, showing higher hierarchy in culture which is apparent in higher centralization, inherent inequalities, autocratic leadership style and higher obedience from subordinates (Alteneiji, 2015). On the index of individualism/collectivism, UAE is deemed as a high collectivistic society and exhibit higher integration throughout their life time (Hofstede, 2011, p. 92). In addition, on masculinity/femininity index UAE is somewhere in the middle showing higher concerns for the quality of life and achievements and competition (Aljerjawi, 2016). Lastly, UAE is high on avoiding uncertainty showing higher concerns toward traditions and rituals and have higher tendency toward formal and bureaucratic organizational structures (Hofstede, 2011).

Leavy (2017) have recommended using sample size calculators, which are available online, to determine the ideal sample size for a particular study. The targeted sample size was calculated by the sample size calculator provided by Qualtrics (https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/calculating-sample-size/). The ideal sample size was found to be 370 responses, based on a population size of 18,600 and a confidence level of 95%. An invitation email and a URL link were sent to all of the targeted populations during the last quarter of 2019. This was done to obtain the targeted sample size and reach a large enough sample size to use structural equation modeling, as recommended by Tabachnick and Fidell (2007) and Kline (2011). The questionnaire was distributed in English language as it is a widely spoken language in the UAE and because it was the targeted population (academics) main language for teaching/researching in most of the UAE higher education providers. A total of 396 questionnaires were received; however, 37 questionnaires were incomplete. After eliminating the incomplete ones, the final realized sample was 359 usable questionnaires, which was very close to the ideal sample size calculated by Qualtrics. The total number of usable questionnaires also exceeded the rule of thumb of 10 times the largest number of structural paths directed at a particular construct in the structural model (Hair et al., 2017). In our model, there are three paths directed at innovative work behavior; therefore, the minimum sample size should be 30. The sample size of this study is comfortably above this minimum.

The questionnaire of this study consists of two parts: the first part was including the several questions about the participants demographics (gender, marital status, academic rank, nationality, and location of the higher education institutes they worked for) while the second part included the measurements of the main research variables explained below. The items of these scales were anchored on a six-point Likert scale to avoid neutral responses. Negatively worded items were reverse-scored, so higher scores represent higher levels of the construct being measured. In all such cases, only measures previously reported in the literature as having sound psychometric properties were used to measure the constructs of interest to this study.

We prepared the survey data for data analysis by correcting errors, checking and treating outliers, checking for normal distribution, and multicollinearity based on the guidelines provided by Tabachnick and Fidell (2007). Missing values were very few and it was handled using mean substitution option. Armstrong and Overton (1977) recommended procedures to be used to check for possible non-responses. By conducting the Mann–Whitney U test, we found no significant differences between the first third and the last third of the respondents’ data, so we concluded that non-response bias did not appear to be an issue in this study. We also checked for common method bias (CMB) in the measurement model for this study’s principal constructs. Harman’s single factor test was used for exploratory factor analysis in IBM SPSS version 24 (Podsakoff et al., 2003). Researchers have argued that if there is a detrimental level of common method bias, ‘(a) a single factor will emerge from the exploratory factor analysis (unrotated) or (b) one general factor will account for the majority of the covariance among the measures’ (Podsakoff et al., 2003, p. 889), as four factors emerged from an exploratory factor analysis (unrotated) to explain 76.3% of the variance. The first factor explained only 31.51% of the variance; thus, we can infer that common methods bias was not an issue in this study. A common method bias (CMB) for the constructs included in this study were also checked by conducting full collinearity assessment based on the instruction provided by Kock (2015, p. 7) and using SmartPLS. The outcomes of this test revealed that all variance inflation factors (VIFs) for this study latent variables were lower than the threshold of 3.3; thus, we could infer that common methods bias was not an issue in this study.

Once both of the control variables in this study are categorical in nature. Therefore, an ANOVA analysis were conducted using the categorical control variables as independent variables (i.e., marital status, and age) and IWB as a dependent variable. None of the categorical control variables were significant and were excluded from further analysis.

Data analysis was run using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). SmartPLS 3.2.9 software (Ringle et al., 2015) was used to analyze the data. PLS-SEM was selected because it is suitable for testing theoretical frameworks from a prediction perspective, a distributional-free technique, and can reach high levels of statistical power even with a limited sample size like ours (Hair et al., 2019). The results of the PLS analysis were used to test the research hypotheses. Guidelines provided by Chin (2010) and Hair et al. (2016) were followed to analyze the data over the two stages: testing the measurement model and then testing the structural model.

Following the common criteria that Hair et al. (2016) have suggested for the reflective measurement model, we examined internal consistency (composite reliability), indicator reliability, convergent validity (average variance extracted), and discriminant validity. Convergent validity was assessed through factor loadings, composite reliability (CR), and Average Variance Extracted (AVE). Table 2 shows that all item loadings exceeded the recommended value of 0.6 (Chin, 1998) except for four items. A decision was made to eliminate these four items from further analysis. The composite reliability values for all constructs exceeded the recommended value of 0.7, indicating a high level of reliability. The Average Variance Extracted (AVE) for all constructs also exceeded the threshold of 0.50, which suggests that each adequate convergent validity explains at least 50 percent of the variance of its items.

Next, we assessed the discriminant validity, aiming to determine the extent to which a construct was empirically distinct from other constructs in the structural model. The correlation matrix exhibited in Table 3 shows that the square root of the AVE (diagonal values) of each construct was larger than its corresponding correlation coefficients, confirming an adequate discriminant validity (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Henseler et al. (2015) have argued that the Fornell and Larcker criterion does not perform well, particularly when the items’ loadings on a construct differ only slightly; therefore, they proposed the Heterotrait-monotrait Ratio (HTMT) of the correlation as a better replacement. Once our items’ loadings on their respective constructs differed slightly, the discriminant validity was tested using the new technique. The results of the Heterotrait-monotrait Ratio (HTMT) test, as shown in Table 4, confirm an adequate discriminant validity as all values in the table are below the threshold value of 0.85 (Kline, 2011).

Having established confidence in the measurement model, the structure model needs to be tested to examine the hypothesized relationships depicted in the research model. Hair et al. (2016) have suggested examining five indicators to test the structural model: coefficients of determination (R²); predictive relevance (Q²); Size and significance of path coefficients (Beta-β); f² effect sizes; q² effect sizes. First, we examined the direct relationship between the variables.

Results indicated that both HRPs and POS significantly correlated with employee innovative behavior (β = 0.277; p < 0. 000; B = 0.373; p < 0. 000); thus, we accept research hypotheses one (H1) and two (H2). Table 5 and Figure 2 summarizes these results. Moreover, HRPs and POS explain 38% of the variance in innovative work behavior (R² = 0.380). The R² value of 0.380 is higher than the 0.26 value that Cohen (1988) suggested would indicate a substantial predictive power. To test the effect size, Cohen’s (1988) guidelines were used, which are 0.02 for a small effect, 0.15 for a medium effect, and 0.35 for a large effect. Table 5 shows that the two hypothesized relationships had a small effect size. Along with R² and f², the PLS path model’s predictive accuracy was checked by calculating the Q² using blindfolding procedures. Results show the endogenous variable (IWB) in this study had an acceptable predictive relevance as their Q², as shown in Table 5, which was greater than zero.

To test gender differences, a multi-group analysis (PLS-MGA) was conducted after we created two groups: Male (1) and Female (2). To check whether the differences between the two groups were significant, we checked the parametric test results obtained from the PLS/MGA results report, as depicted in Table 6.

As can be seen in the table above, it was found that the differences between the two sexes was significant only in the perceived support they received from their organizations. The results indicated that the female employees seemed to receive significantly less support from their organizations than their male co-workers. This finding provides support for research hypothesis three (H3) but not for research hypothesis four (H4).

Findings of this study, related to the positive relationship between perceived organizational support and employees’ innovative work behaviors, are consistent with previous studies (i.e., King-Kauanui et al., 2005; Afsar and Badir, 2016; Nazir et al., 2019). Moreover, results of this study also support the notion of innovative work behaviors as a continuing process (Spreitzer, 1995), which always requires organizational support to be effective. Therefore, it is evident that POS provides a conducive environment to employees in which innovative work behaviors might flourish.

The second important objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of HRPs on employees’ innovative work behaviors. Findings revealed that HRPs positively predicted employees’ innovative work behaviors. In other words, HRPs comprising teamwork, employee involvement, empowerment, offer of fair rewards and job security, played a key role in facilitating innovative behaviors in organizations. Exhibition of these practices by organizations enhanced the sense of ‘employees’ oneness with organizations’, which in turn motivated them with regards to innovative behaviors. Results of this study corroborate findings of previous studies which found that intrinsic motivation, rewards and incentive systems, evaluation and job design, and high involvement HR practices significantly predict employees’ innovative behaviors (Amabile et al., 1996; Oldham and Cummings, 1996; Prieto and Pérez-Santana, 2014).

Lastly, we also explored the moderating impact of gender on the positively relationship between POS, HRPs and employee innovative work behaviors. It is evident from labor economics and management literature that the gender gap is an important and well-explored topic of research. However, there are very few studies on this topic in the Gulf region [Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)] and the UAE (Patterson et al., 2020). Patterson et al. (2020) conducted a meta-analysis on the patterns in a detailed literature review on gender roles in MENA and GCC countries, and they found that gender discrimination is a decreasing trend; however, the issue still exists in the region. Findings of this study support this notion and show that males are more prone toward innovative work behaviors than their female counterparts. This is logical because males are dominant in most of organizations in this region and therefore get more support from their organizations and more benefits as such. Such an environment provides a more suitable platform for male rather than female employees to utilize their innovative skills to its full potential and exhibit innovative work behaviors.

This study has a number of valuable implications for managers/practitioners and policy makers. First, managers at the top-level hierarchy of organizations (i.e., educational institutions) are encouraged to develop and maintain a supportive work environment for employees so that they have access to the valuable resources in their respective organizations, which is highly likely to lead them toward innovative work behaviors. Eisenberger et al. (1986) asserted that three general forms of perceived favorable treatment received from the organization (i.e., fairness, supervisor support, and organizational rewards and job conditions) represent the antecedents of POS. This emphasizes that treating the employees fairly, encouraging the academic department chairs to provide continuous support for them, along with a fair and motivational organizational reward system, as well as improving the quality of working life, are likely to contribute to maintaining high levels of innovative work behaviors. Such a supportive environment develops a sense of oneness in employees with their organizations and, as a result, they are more likely to go the extra mile for the organizational benefit. Therefore, managers and practitioners setting at the responsible positions in organizations are encouraged to provide access to employees to the valuable resources of the organization and give them higher degree of autonomy and participation in decision making. All these will enhance their morale and motivation and lead them toward bring in new ideas into their organization. Second, managers are also encouraged to exhibit HRPs such as continuous learning, interdisciplinary training, promote collaboration and teamwork, Facilitate networking opportunities with industry experts and other educational institutions, employee involvement and empowerment, redesign the reward system to foster innovation performance. Following the norm of reciprocity and social exchange theory (Blau, 1964), these motivated employees will be more likely to display higher levels of effort in their work. Hence, it should be one of the primary responsibilities of managers to develop and environment where employees have a higher trust on each other and are ready to go above and beyond the call of their duties for the organizational benefits. Lastly, and as far as the gender differences is concerned, top management and human resource managers should highlight the significance of POS to both males and female and ensure gender equality in organizations to get the maximum benefits from the their human capital. It is recommended to ensure the equity and equality in organizations at all levels to foster innovative work behaviors.

Despite the strengths of this study, there are also a number of limitations associated with it which must be kept in mind before generalizing the results. First, cross-sectional data were collected to test the hypotheses of this study rather than time-lagged data, and therefore, the causal relationships were tested in a single study at one point in time, rather than at different points in time. The common method bias test was conducted using two different methods to avoid the effect of this design issue. Although the sample size of this study was acceptable (359), a bigger sample would have allowed us to run a more powerful analysis. Future researchers are encouraged to collect longitudinal data to address this issue. Another potential shortcoming in this study was conducting it in a single context (higher education sector), which might reduce the generalizability of its results to other contexts. The above limitations, along with the gaps identified in the comprehensive literature review, will open the door for future research to address these gaps. Future studies, set in the context of the manufacturing/services sectors, may provide new insights into the innovative work behaviors of employees.