This study investigates the mediating effects of learning agility on the relationship between perceived organizational support and innovative behavior, as well as between digital literacy and innovative behavior in HRD practitioners at large corporati...
This study investigates the mediating effects of learning agility on the relationship between perceived organizational support and innovative behavior, as well as between digital literacy and innovative behavior in HRD practitioners at large corporations. To this end, the study set the following research goals: first, it investigates the direct influential relationships among the perceived organizational support, digital literacy, learning ability, and innovative behavior of HRD practitioners at large corporations; second, it examines the mediating effects of learning agility on the relationship between perceived organizational support and innovative behavior and between digital literacy and innovative behavior in HRD practitioners at large corporations.
The population of the study is HRD practitioners at large corporations in South Korea. The target population for this research includes human resource development workers who belonged to the HRD or any organizations related to education or were in charge of educational affairs regardless of their ranks at the top 50 corporate groups and their affiliates on the list announced by the Fair Trade Commission in May 2023. Since there were limitations in determining the accurate size of the population, the researcher used non-probability convenience sampling, being cautious about the unequal distribution of certain corporations. The researcher also collected responses across various types of business including manufacturing, finance, and information & communication to minimize the gap between industries and utilized a cooperative system with practitioners in the HRD to supplement non-probability convenience sampling. For data collection, the study collected a total of 365 questionnaires through an online survey and used all of them as they contained no outliers such as insincere answers. A survey instrument was devised with 40 items including nine on innovative behavior, seven on perceived organizational support, ten on digital literacy, eight on learning agility, and six on the general characteristics of the respondents. All the variables except the general characteristics of respondents were put on a five-point Likert scale. Both the preliminary and main surveys achieved a reliability level fit for analysis. For data analysis, the study conducted descriptive statistics analysis, t-test, ANOVA, bivariate correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, simple regression analysis, and mediating effect test with the Process Macro Model 4. In all the analyses, the statistical significance level was set at 0.05.
The main findings of the study were as follows: first, the perceived organizational support (β=0.248, p<0.001), digital literacy (β=0.176, p<0.001), and learning agility(β=0.401, p<0.001) of HRD practitioners at large corporations had significant positive effects on their innovative behavior. Second, their perceived organizational support (β=0.295, p<0.001) and digital literacy (β=0.397, p<0.001) had significant positive effects on their learning agility. Third, learning agility played a partial mediating role in the relationship between their perceived organizational support and innovative behavior. Learning agility also played a partial mediating role in the relationship between their digital literacy and innovative behavior.
Based on these findings, the study reached the following conclusions: first, there are significant positive influential relations among perceived organizational support, digital literacy, learning agility, and innovative behavior of HRD practitioners at large corporations. HRD practitioners at large corporations with high perceived organizational support have a high level of innovative behavior, which implies that innovative behavior is closely connected to both individual motivations and support at the organizational level. A high level of digital literacy leads to a high level of innovative behavior, which means that the ability to explore new information and utilize it in business can work as the driving force of innovative behavior. When workers consider their learning agility level to be high, they also consider their innovative behavior level to be high, which indicates that they can perform new and difficult duties even in a rapidly changing situation by learning and applying newly acquired skills through experience. Thus, corporations are required to support their HRD practitioners in a way that promotes interactions between the organizational and individual characteristics of their workplace context and prepares measures to increase their learning ability as a desire for competence so that the innovative behavior of HRD practitioners can improve.
Secondly, perceived organizational support and digital literacy have significant positive effects on learning agility in HRD practitioners at large corporations. In other words, they can react to new needs in their work process with more agile and proper responses if they are provided with enough psychological stability and physical support at the organizational level. It is also proven that digital literacy related to new information access, interpretation, and application reinforces learning agility. As such, it is necessary to provide full support and continuously increase the digital competency level in addition to the physical and psychological support at the organizational level for greater learning agility.
Thirdly, the study investigated the mediating effects of learning agility on the relationship between perceived organizational support and innovative behavior and between digital literacy and innovative behavior in HRD practitioners at large corporations. Learning agility has mediating effects on the relationship between their perceived organizational support and innovative behavior, which means that perceived organizational support should be increased through support at the organizational level to promote the innovative behavior of workers. At the same time, conditions should be made to increase their learning ability such as a culture to encourage new attempts and tolerate failures. In addition, learning ability has mediating effects on the relationship between the digital literacy and innovative behavior of HRD practitioners at large corporations. Large corporations need to encourage their HRD practitioners in making individual efforts to accumulate knowledge and experiences for a higher digital literacy, prepare diverse motivators to increase their learning agility, and create a culture to self recognize themselves for their new attempts so that HRD practitioners can perform various innovative behaviors.
This study made some suggestions for a follow-up study: first, researchers should consider evaluations by the department heads and interactions with colleagues in addition to the personal perception levels of workers for accurate research. That is, they need to compare inter-group and intra-group effects with results at the individual level by measuring at the team unit level or through responses to the whole aspects of the team in the eyes of the team members; second, there should be additional research to investigate the relationship between innovative behavior and antecedents in other subjects in the research and sales positions at various organizations including public institutions and startups; third, researchers need to explore additional variables that affect the innovative behavior of HRD practitioners at large corporations in addition to the self-determination theories such as the model of innovative behavior components by Scott & Bruce (1994).
The practical suggestions for utilizing the research results are as follows. First, in order to promote the innovative behavior of HRD practitioners in large companies, in addition to simple psychological support, authority and institutional mechanisms that enable new attempts to be actively carried out should be provided together. Second, in line with the environment of the spread of generative AI and data-driven decision-making, digital literacy should be redefined from ‘tool use’ to the competency of ‘creating work, applying it, and verifying it.’ Third, since learning agility was confirmed as an important mediating variable in order to increase the innovative behavior of HRD practitioners in large companies, it is necessary to build an organizational culture to enhance it.