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Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science

ISSN Online: 2576-0548 ISSN Print: 2576-0556 CODEN: JHASAY
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ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.07.001

The Role of Psychology in Innovation: A Systematic Review

Gordian I. Nweke1, Ogochukwu C. Nweke2,*, Samuel C. Mocha3

1Faculty of Business Management, Capella University, Minneapolis, MN 55402, USA.

2School of Business, Leadership and Legal Studies (SBLL), Regent University College of Science and Technology, Accra DS1636, Ghana.

3CoBM, Colorado Technical University, Colorado Springs, CO 80907, USA.

*Corresponding author: Ogochukwu C. Nweke

Published: July 21,2025

Abstract

The significance of innovation to organizational and societal development has influenced researchers to pay more attention to the innovative behavior of individuals. Researchers have studied how psychology influences individuals’ innovativeness. The purpose of this study was to synthesize current research on the psychological factors facilitating innovation in various organizational settings. The study used the combinations of the terms such as “psychology” or “psychological factors” with “innovation,” “creativity,” or “novelty” to search for relevant studies from electronic databases, including PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Ninety-eight studies were retrieved from the search, and 15 were suitable to be included in the final review. The PRISMA flow chart was used to report the findings of the study. It is revealed that all the studies included in the final review show a positive relationship between psychology and innovation. The findings further show that psychological empowerment, psychological safety, leadership and motivation, mental health status, and psychological capital (PsyCap) were the most robust psychological constructs facilitating or inhibiting innovation in general. The results show that organizations desiring to encourage innovation must give attention to psychological empowerment, transformative leadership, and secure contexts in which creativity and risk-taking are nurtured.

Keywords

Creativity; Innovation; Motivation; Psychology; Systematic review

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How to cite this paper

The Role of Psychology in Innovation: A Systematic Review

How to cite this paper: Gordian I. Nweke, Ogochukwu C. Nweke, Samuel C. Mocha. (2025) The Role of Psychology in Innovation: A Systematic Review. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science9(7), 1244-1258.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.07.001