Ha Le Thu Hoai
Tomas Bata University, Czech Republic
Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance
JEL Classification: M12 https://doi.org/10.65176/IJLM.V2I1.14
Abstract
This study examines the impact of Playful Work Design (PWD) on Innovative Work Behaviour (IWB) among employees and teams in Vietnamese enterprises, with a specific focus on the mediating role of Leader–Member Exchange (LMX). Drawing on theories of positive organisational behaviour, job design, and social exchange, this study explores how elements of fun and competition embedded in daily work tasks can stimulate creativity and innovation.
The findings reveal that PWD has a significant and positive influence on both employee and team IWB. Moreover, LMX mediates this relationship, suggesting that high-quality leader–member interactions enhance the effectiveness of playful work environments in fostering innovation. This study contributes to the literature by positioning PWD as a strategic managerial tool rather than merely a psychological construct, especially in the context of developing economies.
Practically, this research offers actionable insights for organisations aiming to boost innovation through workplace design and leadership development. Encouraging playful behaviours at work—when supported by strong leader–member relationships—can lead to higher engagement, creativity, and innovation outcomes.
Keywords: Playful Work Design, Innovative Work Behaviour, Leader–Member Exchange, Vietnam Innovation
References
Abramis, D. J. (1990). Play in Work. American Behavioral Scientist, 33(3), 353–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764290033003010
Afsar, B. and Umrani, W. (2019). Transformational leadership and innovative work behavior. European Journal of Innovation Management, 23(3), 402-428. https://doi.org/10.1108/ejim-12-2018-0257
Amabile, T. M. (1983, August). The social psychology of creativity: A componential conceptualization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45(2), 357–376. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.45.2.357
Anderson, N. R., & West, M. A. (1998, May). Measuring climate for work group innovation: development and validation of the team climate inventory. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19(3), 235–258. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-1379(199805)19:3<235::aid-job837>3.0.co;2-c
Axtell, C. M., Holman, D. J., Unsworth, K. L., Wall, T. D., Waterson, P. E., & Harrington, E. (2000, September). Shopfloor innovation: Facilitating the suggestion and implementation of ideas. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73(3), 265–285. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317900167029
Bagheri, A. and Akbari, M. (2017). The impact of entrepreneurial leadership on nurses’ innovation behavior. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 50(1), 28-35. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12354
Barrett, P. (2007, May). Structural equation modelling: Adjudging model fit. Personality and Individual Differences, 42(5), 815–824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.09.018
Barnett, L. (2007, September). The nature of playfulness in young adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(4), 949–958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2007.02.018
Bakker, A. B., Hetland, J., Olsen, O. K., Espevik, R., & De Vries, J. D. (2020, October). Job crafting and playful work design: Links with performance during busy and quiet days. Journal of Vocational Behavior, Volume 122, 103478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103478
Bakker, A. B., Scharp, Y. S., Breevaart, K., & de Vries, J. D. (2020). Playful Work Design: Introduction of a New Concept. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 23. https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2020.20
Bakker, A. B., & van Woerkom, M. (2018, February). Strengths use in organizations: A positive approach of occupational health. Canadian Psychology / Psychologie Canadienne, 59(1), 38–46. https://doi.org/10.1037/cap0000120
Cai, L., Makhdoom, H., & Asim, S. (2020). Impact of entrepreneurial leadership on innovative work behavior: examining mediation and moderation mechanisms;. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, Volume 13, 105-118. https://doi.org/10.2147/prbm.s236876
Choi, S., Kim, K., Ullah, S., & Kang, S. (2016). How transformational leadership facilitates innovative behavior of korean workers. Personnel Review, 45(3), 459-479. https://doi.org/10.1108/pr-03-2014-0058
Davis, M. S., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1977, March). Beyond Boredom and Anxiety: The Experience of Play in Work and Games. Contemporary Sociology, 6(2), 197. https://doi.org/10.2307/2065805
de Jong, J. P., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2007, January 30). How leaders influence employees’ innovative behaviour. European Journal of Innovation Management, 10(1), 41–64. https://doi.org/10.1108/14601060710720546
de Jong, J., & den Hartog, D. (2010, March). Measuring Innovative Work Behaviour. Creativity and Innovation Management, 19(1), 23–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8691.2010.00547.x
Des Camp, K. D., & Thomas, C. C. (1993, October). Buffering Nursing Stress Through Play at Work. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 15(5), 619–627. https://doi.org/10.1177/019394599301500508
Dishon-Berkovits, M., Bakker, A. B., & Peters, P. (2023, July 6). Playful work design, engagement and performance: the moderating roles of boredom and conscientiousness. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2023.2227920
Erdogan, B., & Bauer, T. N. (2015). Leader–Member Exchange Theory. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 641–647. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.22010-2
Flick, U. (2017). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Collection. SAGE
Giang, H. (2023, February 6). Innovation index: Viet Nam aims for top four ASEAN countries. en.baochinhphu.vn. https://en.baochinhphu.vn/innovation-index-viet-nam-aims-for-top-four-asean-countries-111230206172541625.htm
Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1975, April). Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60(2), 159–170. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0076546
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N. P., & Ray, S. (2021). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using R: A workbook. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80519-7
Hammond, M. M., Neff, N. L., Farr, J. L., Schwall, A. R., & Zhao, X. (2011, February). Predictors of individual-level innovation at work: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 5(1), 90–105. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018556
Hunsaker, W. D. (2020, August 21). Spiritual leadership and employee innovation. Current Psychology, 41(8), 5048–5057. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01011-9
Janssen, O. (2000). Job demands, perceptions of effort-reward fairness and innovative work behaviour. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73(3), 287–302. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317900167038
Khayinga, C. and Muathe, S. (2018). Human capital development and organizational performance. International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, 6(2), 144-153. https://doi.org/10.31686/ijier.vol6.iss2.959
Kurniawan, D., Kusnayain, Y., Aulisaina, F., & Hakim, M. (2021). Exploring the existence of innovative work behavior among government employee: have been there?. Journal of Indonesian Economy and Business, 36(3), 272-282. https://doi.org/10.22146/jieb.v36i3.1404
Odoardi, C., Montani, F., Boudrias, J. S., & Battistelli, A. (2015, July 6). Linking managerial practices and leadership style to innovative work behavior. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(5), 545–569. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj-10-2013-0131
Li, T., Liang, W., Zhou, Y., & Dang, X. (2020). Analysis of the influence of entrepreneur’s psychological capital on employee’s innovation behavior under leader-member exchange relationship. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01853
Lie, D., Purba, E., Harini, S., Said, M., & Sudirman, A. (2022). Managing innovative work behavior: the role of member-leader exchange, organizational climate and psychological empowerment. Kne Life Sciences. https://doi.org/10.18502/kls.v0i0.11805
Liden, R. C., & Maslyn, J. M. (1998, February). Multidimensionafity of Leader-Member Exchange: An Empirical Assessment through Scale Development. Journal of Management, 24(1), 43–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639802400105
Liu, W., Bakker, A. B., Tse, B. T., & van der Linden, D. (2022, July 26). Does playful work design ‘lead to’ more creativity? A diary study on the role of flow. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 32(1), 107–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432x.2022.2104716
Martin, R. A., & Ford, T. (2018). The Psychology of Humor. Academic Press.
Mete, E. (2017). The path extended from organizational culture to innovative work behavior: a research on a defense company. Journal of Business Research - Turk, 9(1), 403-428. https://doi.org/10.20491/isarder.2017.251
Mutmainnah, D., Yuniarsih, T., Disman, D., Sojanah, J., Rahayu, M., & Nusannas, I. (2022). The impact of directive leadership on innovative work behavior: the mediation role of continuance commitment. Journal of Indonesian Economy and Business, 37(3), 268-286. https://doi.org/10.22146/jieb.v37i3.3377
Novitasari, D., Kumoro, D., Yuwono, T., & Asbari, M. (2020). Authentic leadership and innovation: what is the role of psychological capital?. International Journal of Science and Management Studies (Ijsms), 27-42. https://doi.org/10.51386/25815946/ijsms-v3i5p103
Petelczyc, C. A., Capezio, A., Wang, L., Restubog, S. L. D., & Aquino, K. (2017, September 26). Play at Work: An Integrative Review and Agenda for Future Research. Journal of Management, 44(1), 161–190. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206317731519
Roy, D. (1959, December 1). “Banana Time”: Job Satisfaction and Informal Interaction. Human Organization, 18(4), 158–168. https://doi.org/10.17730/humo.18.4.07j88hr1p4074605
Saeed, B. B., Afsar, B., Cheema, S., & Javed, F. (2019). Leader-member exchange and innovative work behavior. European Journal of Innovation Management, 22(1), 105-124. https://doi.org/10.1108/ejim-11-2017-0158
Sari, D., Yudiarso, A., & Sinambela, F. (2021). Work engagement and innovative work behavior: meta-analysis study.. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210423.053
Saunders, M. N. K., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business students (Eighth Edition). Pearson.
Scharp, Y. S., Breevaart, K., Bakker, A. B., & van der Linden, D. (2019, October). Daily playful work design: A trait activation perspective. Journal of Research in Personality, 82, 103850. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2019.103850
Scharp, Y. S., Bakker, A. B., & Breevaart, K. (2022, April). Playful work design and employee work engagement: A self-determination perspective. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 134, 103693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2022.103693
Schuh, S., Zhang, X., Morgeson, F., Tian, P., & Dick, R. (2017). Are you really doing good things in your boss's eyes? interactive effects of employee innovative work behavior and leader–member exchange on supervisory performance ratings. Human Resource Management, 57(1), 397-409. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21851
Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (1994). Determinants of Innovative behaviour: a path model of individual innovation. Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 580–607. https://doi.org/10.2307/256701
Shahid, M., Chaudhry, S., Bilal, M., Amber, H., Aslam, S., Malik, S., … & Shahzad, K. (2022). The link between team identification, entrepreneurial orientation, and innovative work behavior and its dimensions in the context of pakistan. Sage Open, 12(1), 215824402210798. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221079893
Siddiqui, F. (2024). From theory to practice: hrm practices and intellectual capital in fostering innovation. Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.52131/pjhss.2024.v12i1.2020
Torraco, R. J. (2005, March). Ratings, Rankings, Results, and What Really Matters. Human Resource Development Review, 4(1), 3–7. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484304274127
Vidyarthi, P. R., Erdogan, B., Anand, S., Liden, R. C., & Chaudhry, A. (2014). One member, two leaders: Extending leader–member exchange theory to a dual leadership context. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(3), 468–483. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035466
Welbourne, T.M. , Johnson, D.E. and Erez, A. (1998), “The role-based performance scale: validity analysis of a theory-based measure”, Academy of Management Journal , Vol. 41 No. 5, pp. 540-555.
West, M. A., & Farr, J. L. (1989). Innovation at work: Psychological perspectives. Social Behaviour, 4(1), 15–30.
WIPO. (n.d.). The Global Innovation Index 2021 – ASEAN Results and Using the Index as a Driver to Enhance Innovation. In https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/wipo_webinar_wso_2022_1/wipo_webinar_wso_2022_1_results.pdf.
Yamane, T., (1967) Statistics, An Introductory Analysis, 2nd Ed., New York: Harper and Raw.
Zhang, G. and Wang, Y. (2021). Organizational identification and employees’ innovative behavior: the mediating role of work engagement and the moderating role of creative self-efficacy. Chinese Management Studies, 16(5), 1108-1123. https://doi.org/10.1108/cms-07-2021-0294
Zhang, X., Zhou, X., Wang, Q., Wu, Z., & Sui, Y. (2023). Political skills matter: the role of academic entrepreneurs in team innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management, 27(5), 1596-1623. https://doi.org/10.1108/ejim-08-2022-0456
Zhang, Y., Zhang, J., Forest, J., & Chen, C. (2018). The negative and positive aspects of employees’ innovative behavior: role of goals of employees and supervisors. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01871