Public sector innovation: the effect of universities

Abstract

A growing literature in public management has identified the key role that innovation can play in enhancing agency efficiency, effectiveness, performance and legitimacy. However, considerably less is known about the actual sources of knowledge generating innovative activity in the public sector. This paper fills this crucial gap in the literature by explicitly analyzing the link between a key source of knowledge and ideas, universities, and the innovative activities of public organizations. By utilizing a new source of data, this paper is able to show that not only do universities play a key role in generating innovative activity in public organizations, but the nature of innovations and their impact on public sector performance are related to the role played by universities. The findings suggest that universities play a key role in generating innovative activity in public organizations as doing so can increase the quality of public services, employee job satisfaction, and interagency collaboration.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Operationalization of variables

Dependent variables
Benefit: the cost	The most significant innovation affected the cost of doing work implemented in the last 12 months (From 1 = large negative effect to 5 = large positive effect)
Benefit: the quality	The most significant innovation affected the quality of employees’ work implemented in the last 12 months (From 1 = large negative effect to 5 = large positive effect)
Benefit: employee job satisfaction	The most significant innovation affected employees’ job satisfaction implemented in the last 12 months (From 1 = large negative effect to 5 = large positive effect)
Benefit: cross-agency collaboration	The most significant innovation affected cross-agency collaboration implemented in the last 12 months (From 1 = large negative effect to 5 = large positive effect)
Independent variable
University as a source of innovation	The importance of the tertiary education and/or research groups as an idea or information for the most significant innovation implemented in the last 12 months (1 = Not important, 2 = somewhat important, 3 = very important).
Control variables
Size of agency	Number of people working in the agency. (1 = small (< 251), 2 = medium (251–1000), 3 = large (1000 +)).
Location	Respondent’s workplace (1 = Australian Capital Territory, 0 = Field Office)
Level of job classification	Respondent’s substantive classification level (1 = Australian Public Service 1–6, 2 = executive level (1–2), 3 = senior executive service)
Experience	Total length of service in the Australian Public Service (APS) (1 = less than 5 years, 2 = 5–10 years, 3 = 10–15 years, 4 = 15–20 years, 5 = 20 years or more)
Education level	Respondent’s highest completed qualification (1 = Completed year 12 or below, 2 = completed vocational qualification, 3 = completed tertiary qualifications)
Overall job satisfaction	Overall, I am satisfied with my job. From 1 = strongly disagree through 5 = strongly agree
Full-time status	Respondent’s basis of employment status (1 = Full-time basis, 0 = part-time basis)
Awareness of innovation barriers	“Do you believe there are barriers to implementing innovations in your work place?” (1 = Yes, 0 = No)
Innovation climate	12 survey indicators, from 1 = strongly disagree through 5 = strongly agree. (Alpha = 0.89)
	a. I am always looking for better ways to do things
	b. I am prepared to challenge others’ thinking and points of view in order to solve problems in my workplace
	c. I receive support from my manager when I suggest new ideas
	d. I know exactly who needs to hear about my ideas so that they can be evaluated
	e. There are established processes for evaluating my ideas
	f. Employees in my workplace have autonomy and freedom in carrying out their job roles
	g. Employees in my workplace are provided with enough time and resources to try out new ideas
	h. My workplace encourages innovation and the development of new ideas
	i. My workplace is prepared to pilot and trial new ideas
	j. My workplace celebrates its successes in innovation and learns from everything it does
	k. My workplace shares its ideas and encourages their wider use
	l. My workplace has reward or incentive programs that encourage innovation

Appendix 2: Correlations

		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
1	Benefit: cost	1
2	Benefit: quality	0.39	1
3	Benefit: job satisfaction	0.37	0.63	1
4	Benefit: collaboration	0.21	0.34	0.42	1
5	University	0.08	0.12	0.14	0.22	1
6	Size of agency	0	− 0.03	− 0.04	− 0.03	− 0.04	1
7	Location: ACT (capital city)	− 0.01	0.03	0.05	0.05	0.06	− 0.11	1
8	Level of job classification	0.11	0.11	0.13	0.1	− 0.01	− 0.15	0.22	1
9	Experience	0.02	− 0.03	0.01	− 0.02	− 0.08	0.05	− 0.03	0.28	1
10	Education level	− 0.02	0.04	0.03	0.03	0.04	− 0.12	0.12	0.38	− 0.05	1
11	Overall job satisfaction	0.15	0.25	0.37	0.15	0.09	− 0.01	0.02	0.1	0.01	0.02	1
12	Full-time status	0.04	0.07	0.07	0.06	0.01	− 0.02	0	0.07	0.04	0.02	0.03	1
13	Barriers to innovation	− 0.06	− 0.08	− 0.09	− 0.03	0.04	0.03	0.03	0.09	− 0	0.1	− 0.17	0.01	1
14	Innovation climate	0.24	0.32	0.38	0.24	0.16	0.04	0	0.05	− 0.01	− 0.07	0.44	0.03	− 0.33	1