Is innovative behavior really good for the firm?

Purpose This study aims to investigate the negative impacts of innovative work behavior (IWB) on conflict with coworkers and turnover intention. It also aims to test the moderating effect of perceived distributive fairness on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach A total of 460 employees who were working in production and marketing teams at manufacturing and pharmaceutical companies in Indonesia were asked to complete the questionnaire. The final sample consisted of 135 sets of paired data of supervisor and subordinate. The multiple hierarchical regressions were used to test the developed hypotheses. Findings Findings of this study indicated that innovative work behavior had a positive and significant relationship with conflict with coworkers and turnover intention respectively. Moreover, the findings also found that perceived distributive fairness negatively moderated the relationship between IWB and both conflict with coworkers and turnover intention. Research limitations/implications The study involved relatively a small sample selected from employees who were working in production and marketing teams in manufacturing and pharmaceutical companies in Indonesia. Future research should consider extending the sample to other industries and locations to test the arguments as well as exploring other contextual variables to buffer the negative impacts of IWB on conflict with coworkers and turnover intention Originality/value Scholars and practitioners alike agree that IWB helps organizations to gain and sustain competitive advantage. However, IWB may also create problems for organizations and employees that previous studies have left unexplored. This study examines such negative impacts, along with how to alleviate them.