When promoting positive feelings pays: Aggregate job satisfaction, work design features, and innovation in manufacturing organizations

Abstract This study investigates the relationship between aggregate job satisfaction and organizational innovation. In a sample of manufacturing companies, data were gathered from 3717 employees in 28 UK manufacturing organizations about their job satisfaction and aggregated to the organizational level. Data on innovation in technology/processes were gathered from multiple respondents in the same organizations 24 months later. The results revealed that aggregate job satisfaction was a significant predictor of subsequent organizational innovation, even after controlling for prior organizational innovation and profitability. Moreover the data indicated that the relationship between aggregate job satisfaction and innovation in production technology/processes was moderated by two factors: job variety and a commitment to "single status". Unlike previous studies, we conceptualize job satisfaction at the aggregate rather than the individual level and examine innovation rather than creativity. We propose that where the majority of employees experience job satisfaction, they will endorse rather than resist innovation and work collaboratively to implement as well as to generate creative ideas. Additional informationNotes on contributorsHelen J. Shipton A version of this paper was presented at the Academy of Management Conference, New Orleans, August 2004. We are grateful to Jim Guthrie, Ben Schneider, Charlan Nemeth, Doris Fay and Rolf Van Dick for helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper. Thanks are also due to two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions and encouragement.