Does trust-based management reform enhance employee-driven innovation? Evidence from a Scandinavian capital

Abstract

Over the last two decades, public sector trust-based management reform (TBMR) has been on the agenda in Scandinavia. This article analyzes the relationship between such reform and employee-driven innovation (EDI) in schools and home care services through a broadly distributed (large N) survey study analyzed with PLS-PM, based on data from Oslo municipality. It also examines trust and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as factors partially mediating this relationship. In units where employees reported successful implementation of the reform, they also reported an increase in EDI. Employees’ trust in their managers and OCB mediates the relationship. The study contributes to the literature on trust-based management reform (TBMR) and employee-driven innovation by providing knowledge on the impact of TBMR on trust and OCB and how these factors condition EDI in public organizations.