Paradoxical tensions as catalysts
A phenomenon-based study of employee-driven innovation in the civil service
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19477690 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yseult Freeney (0000-0002-0332-468X, DCU Research Institute for Business and Society, corresponding author), Edel Conway (0000-0003-0290-9894, DCU Research Institute for Business and Society), Kathy Monks (0000-0001-6102-5250, Dublin City University), Natasha McDowell (Dublin City University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-27 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-08 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Public Management Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1471-9037 • E-ISSN: 1471-9045 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14719037.2026.2684320 |
| OpenAlex | W7163905556 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 53 |
The paradox of innovation in civil service contexts lies in the simultaneous need for both innovation and risk avoidance within government operations. Our qualitative study, involving 125 Irish civil servants, explores employee-driven innovation (EDI) through a paradox lens to unveil four continua of opposing forces: stability vs. change; bureaucracy vs. flexibility; hierarchical control vs. individual empowerment; and siloization vs. integration. We evidence how managers act as agents to reconcile these tensions to facilitate employee-driven innovation, thus rendering tensions as catalysts for innovation rather than mere contextual factors. We discuss the implications for both theory and practice of EDI
Bureaucracy · Civil service · Civil society · Irish · Public service · Facilities and Workplace Management · Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development · Public Policy and Administration Research
The Long Interview
Toward a Theory of Paradox
Relational Job Design and the Motivation to Make a Prosocial Difference
Paradox as a Metatheoretical Perspective
Public service innovation
The interplay between theory and method
Encouraging innovation in the public sector
Advancing innovation in the public sector
The Risks and Rewards of Speaking Up
Conditions for innovation in public sector organizations
Contradictions, Dialectics, and Paradoxes in Organizations
Seeking Qualitative Rigor in Inductive Research
Civil servants’ inter-departmental social ties as an impetus for voicing ideas for improvement
Public sector innovation in context
Is there a place for employee-driven pro-environmental innovations? The case of public organizations
A practice approach to fostering employee engagement in innovation initiatives in public service organisations
A tension lens for understanding public innovation diffusion processes
Street-Level bureaucracy in public administration
Reimagining the bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy debate
Two decades of public sector innovation
Innovation in the Public Sector
Conceptualizing risk and social innovation
Between dogma and doubt
Developing Practice‐Oriented Theory on Collaboration
Management Innovation and Organizational Performance
Innovation, voice, and hierarchy in the public sector
Theory Construction in Qualitative Research
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |