Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether a societal context of ethnic conflict influences employee innovation behavior in the work domain and whether a collaborative conflict management style adopted by supervisors plays a moderating role.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the conflict, organizational behavior and innovation literature, the study examines the main and interaction effects of employee sensitivity to ethnic conflict, organizational frustration and collaborative conflict management style of supervisors on employee engagement with colleagues to innovate products, services and job processes. Hypotheses are tested using hierarchical regression analysis, controlling for ethnic diversity in workgroups.

Findings

Employee innovation behavior is greatest when employee sensitivity to ethnic conflict is high, organizational frustration is low and when supervisors are perceived to be highly collaborative in managing conflict, regardless of whether the workgroup is ethnically homogenous or diverse.

Research limitations/implications

The study findings expand our knowledge of the effects of sociopolitical conflict on employee behavior and the role of collaborative conflict management. Future research can address limitations including self-reports, cross-sectional design and single country setting.

Practical implications

The findings of this study suggest that employee innovation behavior can be enhanced through developing collaborative conflict management skills of those in leadership positions.

Originality/value

This is the first study to empirically examine the influence of ethnic conflict on employee innovation behavior and is of value to businesses operating in conflict settings.