Chapter 2: Employees’ STARA Awareness and Innovative Work Behavioural Intentions: Evidence from US Casual Dining Restaurants

This chapter aims to (1) examine the effect of full-time employees’ STARA awareness on innovative work behavioural intentions in US casual dining restaurants; (2) investigate the mediating roles of employees’ challenge–hindrance appraisals of STARA awareness on the relationship between their STARA awareness and innovative work behavioural intentions; (3) compare the group differences between management employees and non-management employees; and (4) provide recommendations for the casual dining restaurants.

This chapter employed an online survey to collect data from 609 full-time employees in US casual dining restaurants, including 306 management employees and 303 non-management employees. Partial least squares–structural equation modelling was applied for data analysis. The results reveal that the high levels of employees’ STARA awareness raise innovative work behavioural intentions through the mediations of challenge appraisal of STARA awareness.

The proposed conceptual framework and empirical findings in this chapter enrich the literature of cognitive appraisal theory, transactional model and stress, two-dimensional stressor framework, and person-environment fit theory. Employees’ challenge appraisal of STARA awareness makes the job insecurity stressor to drive innovative work behavioural intentions. As STARA adoption deepens in casual dining restaurants, managers need to be aware of full-time employees’ stress and psychological responses towards STARA adoption. Restaurants are suggested to provide employees with adequate resources and support to help employees’ professional competency growth. The capable employees will appraise the job insecurity stressor induced by STARA adoption as an opportunity and be motivated to perform innovatively in the workplace. The casual dining restaurants may enjoy a competitive advantage in the market through value-added innovative activities.