Paradoxical tensions as catalysts: a phenomenon-based study of employee-driven innovation in the civil service
通过对125名爱尔兰公务员的质性研究，揭示公务员系统中稳定与变革等四对矛盾张力如何被管理者转化为创新催化剂，推动员工驱动创新。
The paradox of innovation in civil service contexts lies in the simultaneous need for both innovation and risk avoidance within government operations. Our qualitative study, involving 125 Irish civil servants, explores employee-driven innovation (EDI) through a paradox lens to unveil four continua of opposing forces: stability vs. change; bureaucracy vs. flexibility; hierarchical control vs. individual empowerment; and siloization vs. integration. We evidence how managers act as agents to reconcile these tensions to facilitate employee-driven innovation, thus rendering tensions as catalysts for innovation rather than mere contextual factors. We discuss the implications for both theory and practice of EDI.