Playful Work Design and Innovative Work Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Effect Through Employee Competence and Role Breadth Self-Efficacy

Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study examines how playful work design (PWD) influences innovative work behavior (IWB) through the mediating role of employee competence and the moderating role of role breadth self-efficacy (RBSE). Although prior research has linked PWD to creativity and proactive behaviors, its relationship with innovative work behavior remains underexplored, and the mechanisms through which it operates are not well understood. To address these gaps, a time-lagged, multi-wave survey design was employed, and data were collected from 249 employees working across the four major telecommunications companies in Egypt using a convenience sampling approach. Hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS 4.0. The results demonstrate that PWD positively influences employee competence, which in turn positively predicts innovative work behavior. Furthermore, employee competence fully mediated the relationship between playful work design and innovative work behavior, indicating that PWD influences innovative work behavior through capability development. Moreover, role breadth self-efficacy strengthened the positive effect of competence on innovative work behavior, and the indirect effect of playful work design on innovative work behavior through employee competence was stronger at higher levels of role breadth self-efficacy. These findings advance theoretical understanding by positioning employee competence as a developmental pathway linking playful work design to innovative work behavior and by clarifying the boundary conditions under which this pathway is most effective. Practical implications for managers in knowledge-intensive sectors are discussed.