Influence of employee innovative behaviour on organisation operation performance: the case of carpentry industry in Dar es Salaam

The study was designed to examine the influence of employee innovative behaviour on organisational operation performance. Specific objectives of the study were to determine and assess whether SMEs possess innovation policies or guidelines that support innovative behaviour, investigate the employees’ attitude on the innovation policies and guidelines that support innovative behaviours and assess work group relations in the carpentry industry and their influence on operation performance. The study employed quantitative approach; the data were collected through documentary sources, questionnaires, and observation and it was analysed using SPSS for initial data analysis. The findings reveal that SMEs do not possess innovation policies or guidelines that support employee innovative behaviour, employees and or owner of business in the carpentry industry have positive attitude towards policies or guidelines that support employee innovative behaviour and these employees have good work group relations that influence organisation operation performance. More over the findings have shown that there is positive relationship between organisation operation performance and employees’ innovative behaviours. A key policy implication from this study is that policy makers from SMEs engaged with carpentry business are urged to enhance and create innovation policy or guideline within their organisation that will foster creativity and innovation culture.