WPG Director, Dr Maire Kerrin, invited to present a talk on Innovation at ICLCity2016 Conference, entitled ‘Individual-level predictors of workplace innovation: Implications for selection and development’.
To promote innovative behaviours, organisations need to reliably identify and capitalise on the innovative potential of their employees. Therefore, the individual characteristics and behaviours that predict innovation are of particular interest and benefit to both employers and employees across a range of sectors. Whilst employees need a supportive work environment to promote and facilitate innovation, propensity to innovate is driven predominantly by individuals’ own motivational qualities, abilities and attributes. This talk will present research conducted initially in the 1990s and updated in 2015 on a measure of innovative behaviour. The Innovation Potential Indicator (IPI) encompasses four key dimensions comprising aspects of work style, motivation, personality and intellect. During the 1990s when the IPI was originally developed, innovation research at the individual level focused on intelligence and cognition, knowledge, personality and motivation. More recent research has identified a broader range of personal resources linked to innovation that also play a role including; emotional intelligence, personal initiative, self-efficacy, and various motivational qualities. With these new constructs emerging, the aim of this research is to extend and refresh the existing IPI model to incorporate these newly identified factors associated with innovation. It will also present findings from an initial investigation of ‘construct validity’, looking at the relationship between employee innovation as measured by the IPI and established measures of emotional intelligence.
Máire (pronounced Maura) is a Director of the Work Psychology Group, a research led consultancy organisation specialising in assessment and development, evaluation and innovation. A Chartered Occupational Psychologist, Máire has a wide range of experience in managing and delivering consultancy projects within the private and public sectors including healthcare, local and central government, manufacturing, finance and retail. Her interest in innovation stems from her early career PhD research into continuous improvement in the automobile industry. Building on this work and in collaboration with her co-Director Prof Fiona Patterson, Máire’s research and practice has focused on individual level predictors important for innovation and how these influence leadership and culture change for innovation. Máire is currently a Visiting Lecturer at City and is the MICL Academic Leader for the ‘Psychology of Creativity and Innovation’ module. Prior to setting up the Work Psychology Group, she was a Senior Lecturer in Organisational Psychology in the Psychology Department at City and Course Director of the MSc Organisational Psychology, Senior Consultant with the Institute for Employment Studies and Lecturer in Organisational Psychology at the University of Nottingham Business School.
