Supervisor idea adoption scale: Construction, reliability and initial validity evidence

Despite the importance of workplace innovation, the adoption of creative ideas at workplace level has received little attention due to a lack of measures for idea adoption. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a scale that measures employees’ perceptions of the process of idea adoption. Specifically, the scale assesses employee perceptions of their supervisor’s behavior in terms of idea openness, selection and application. Three studies were conducted to develop the supervisor idea adoption scale and investigate the scale scores’ psychometric properties (Study 1, n = 326); concurrent, convergent and divergent validity (Study 2, n = 333); and test-retest reliability over a three month period (Study 3, n = 189). The findings indicated good psychometric properties: the three factor structure was supported and the scales scores showed internal consistency and retest reliability. Furthermore, the scale scores’ associations with other variables provided initial evidence for concurrent, convergent and divergent validity. Several recommendations are made for the application of the scale in research and practice.