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Service Innovation in the IT Service Industry: Social Influence and Relationship Exchange Perspectives

Hypothesis 4: Felt obligation mediates the positive relationships between TMX and
innovation intention.

2.6 Innovation Intention and Innovation Performance
Behavioral intention represents an individual’s decision to perform a specific behavior
and willingness to try regardless of how hard the work is and how much effort needs to
be invested (Ajzen, 1991). In line with the theory of planned behavior, an individual’s

behavioral intention is the central factor influencing the performance of a given behavior,
a powerful behavioral predictor and mediator across various research contexts (Ajzen,
1991). Evidence of behavioral intention has been found in numerous research contexts
(Bock, Zmud, Kim, and Lee, 2005; Owens, Baker, Sumpter, and Cameron, 2016; Perugini
and Bagozzi, 2001). When an employee exhibits intention to engage in a behavior, he/she
is more likely to cognitively engage with the practice and perform innovative behaviors
(Zhang and Bartol, 2010).

In the organizational context of this study, in which employees display a willingness
to engage in innovation, we anticipate the relationship between intention and performance
to be important. In line with research on individual innovation (e.g., Zhang and Bartol,
2010), employees with innovation intention are more likely to exert themselves in
innovation-related behaviors, like problem identification, information searching and
encoding, as well as idea and alternative generation, all of which facilitate work
performance. That is, employees will be more likely to concentrate on their jobs and
attempt to overcome barriers associated with the service process and achieve requirements
demanded by organizational members and customers, strengthening their performance

evaluations (Liao et al., 2010; Owens et al., 2016). Therefore, the stronger the intention
toward a behavior, the more likely it is to be performed (Ajzen, 1991; Perugini and
Bagozzi, 2001). We expect the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 5: An engineer’s innovation intention positively influences his/her innovation
performance.

2.7 Moderating Effect: Other-Orientation

Other-orientation is defined as the extent to which employees value and experience
concern for the well-being of other people (De Dreu and Nauta, 2009; Grant and
Wrzesniewski, 2010; Meglino and Korsgaard, 2004). Individuals with a high degree
of other-orientation tend to actualize altruistic ideas that benefit others within the

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