Creative Self-Efficacy, Digital Literacy, and Innovative Work Behavior: Evidence from the Startup Industry

Abstract

Innovative work behavior involves deliberate actions toward creating, introducing, or executing valuable new ideas. For startups to survive, this type of behavior is absolutely essential. However, existing literature rarely examines its individual predictors, specifically creative self-efficacy and digital literacy, simultaneously within a startup environment. To fill this gap, this quantitative study investigated how both factors influence innovative work behavior by collecting data from 135 startup employees through purposive sampling. The multiple linear regression analysis showed that creative self-efficacy (β = 0,480, p < 0,001) and digital literacy (β = 0,280, p < 0,001) significantly influence innovative work behavior. Collectively, these two variables account for 43.4% of the variance in innovative work behavior. This findings offers an empirical contribution to the literature on innovative work behavior, while providing practical implications for startups to design employee development programs that reinforce one another in fostering workplace innovation.