The Impact of Decentralization on Employee Innovation in Tech Industry: The Moderating Role of Supervisor Support

Abstract

Quantitative research is conducted to examine the relationship between decentralization and innovation by technology sector employees: a moderator of supervisor support is considered. Decentralization, which refers to the delegation of decision-making powers at different levels of an organization, is believed to foster creativity and innovation among employees. One can generalize this discussion by pointing out that decentralization of decision-making in practice made the employees act promptly in respect to various technological changes and market needs of the tech sector. However, decentralization is possible only if supported by supervisors and managers. Employing a quantitative research methodology, this study utilizes a cross-sectional survey design to collect data from 152 employees across four prominent tech firms in Islamabad: TecDeps, Softosmith, Omni Sonftex Inc., and DPL. The research perspective is positive and quantitative as the study intends to either support or refute the formulated hypothesis that while decentralizing, greater levels of supervisor support can build on the development of innovative processes. Hypotheses are tested by statistical and quantitative methods to find the relationship between decentralization and supervisor support on different dimensions of employee innovation. These details show that decentralization highly enhances the encouragement of innovation, while the support from the supervisors triples this impact. The results demonstrated that the forms of innovative activity of employees are significantly higher in the presence of high levels of supervisor support, and, therefore, there is an indication that the provision of support from the side of the supervisors in innovative environments is influential in decentralized settings. Not only does this research contribute to the current scholarly literature on the relationships between decentralization, organizational structure and innovation, it also offers insights valuable for tech businesses operating in a contemporary digital landscape that is obsessed with decentralization.