Fueling Innovation from Within: The Psychological Pathways to Innovative Work Behavior in Saudi Public Authorities

This study investigates the relationships between proactive personality, psychological capital, work engagement, work well-being, and innovative work behavior among employees in Saudi public authorities, based on the conservation of resources theory and the job demands-resources model. Using a sequential mediation model, data from 457 public employees were analyzed through structural equation modeling. The results show that a proactive personality and psychological capital significantly predict work engagement, but neither is significantly related to work well-being. Notably, while a proactive personality does not directly impact innovative work behavior, psychological capital does. Additionally, work well-being partially mediates the relationship between work engagement and innovative work behavior. These findings suggest that enhancing psychological capital and fostering engagement are key to promoting innovation. The mediating role of well-being highlights the importance of employee welfare in this process. This study provides practical implications for HR managers in the Saudi public sector and emphasizes strategies for building internal psychological resources. However, as data were collected from a single source, future research should include multiple key informants to enhance generalizability. This study builds on theory by demonstrating how proactive personality and psychological capital jointly stimulate innovative behavior through engagement and well-being, enriching the job demands-resources model with personal resource dynamics in public sector organizations.