The Relationship between Individual and Organizational Characteristics and Nurse Innovation Behavior

Abstract

Nurses are a key component of the health care system and have the ability to provide innovative solutions to improve quality and safety for patients, while improving workplace conditions, and increasing recruitment and retention of nurses. Encouraging innovation behaviors among nurses is essential to improving health care. Innovation behaviors are defined as behavior from an employee toward developing new products, developing new markets, or improving business routines in their employing organization. The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the relationships among individual and organizational characteristics and employee innovation behavior among nurses. The proposed model, The Framework for Study of Innovation Behaviors among Nurses, was developed based on the work by Kuratko, Hornsby, and Montagno and is specific to nursing innovation behaviors.