21991: Enabling or Burdening: The Effect of ICT Use on Employee Innovative Behaviors (session 26228)

With the extensive use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the workplace, leveraging ICT effectively to promote employee innovation has become a key factor for organizations aiming to enhance their competitiveness. However, existing research remains unclear about the mechanisms through which ICT use influences employee innovation performance, particularly lacking a systematic exploration of the distinction between ICT resources and ICT demands. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this paper investigates the dual-path effects of ICT use on employees' innovative behaviors by distinguishing between ICT resources and ICT demands. The study also examines the mediating roles of psychological disengagement from work and job crafting, as well as the moderating effect of boundary management preference. To provide a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of ICT resources and demands, three independent studies with different designs and samples were conducted: Study 1, an experimental design with 106 participants; Study 2, another experimental design with 120 participants; and Study 3, a field study with 304 participants. The findings across the three studies consistently indicate that ICT resources enhance employees' innovative behaviors through psychological disengagement from work, while ICT demands stimulate innovative behaviors through job crafting. Additionally, boundary management preference significantly moderates the relationship between ICT demands and job crafting. This paper offers new insights into the complex mechanisms through which ICT influences employee outcomes in the workplace and provides practical recommendations for organizations to optimize employee management in digital environments.

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