Innovation in the workplace has been claimed to be a key factor in organizational survival and success. As future workers, university students are a major source of future innovations in organizational settings. Before they enter the labour market, it is in the context of Higher Education that they start developing some of their long-term behaviours, such as innovation behaviours. This study aims to explore the main determinants of university students’ innovation behaviours from a longitudinal perspective. The sample comprised 78 students of Psychology, Management, Fine Arts and Education. The results of this study show that previous innovation behaviours as freshmen, current levels of autonomy and cognitive demands are positively related to individual innovation among university students. Practical implications regarding how to foster innovation efforts in the context of Higher Education are discussed.

Higher Education Instituions (HEIs) should be the driving force behind the training of college students in terms of both hard and soft skills (for example, innovation and teamwork competencies), and they should also do so without neglecting their health and well-being, perhaps more than ever in these complex times of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. Game-based learning (GBL) could be a powerful and useful tool in this regard. There is, however, some controversy surrounding the use of games for learning purposes in higher education institutions, and most of the research done about this issue corresponds to GBL through digital games. Under this background, the main objective of this study was to test the effect of GBL on the intrinsic motivation (IM), teamwork engagement (TWE), team building (TB), teamwork competence (TWC), and innovation behaviors (IWB) of 142 college students of Health Sciences and Social Work. After rehearsing in small groups, the game was tested (T2). Our results obtained through the differential analyses confirmed that undergraduates were more intrinsically motivated, experienced more TWE, TB, and TWC, and developed more IWB than before playing the game (T1). Therefore, the development of core personal skills might be promoted effectively by games in an efficient, engaging, and motivating way.

Continuous innovation has become a key to gaining a sustainable competitive advantage for organizations in the 21st century. By focusing on the underlying mechanisms (i.e., mindfulness and work engagement) by which it works, this study addresses the quality of leader–member relationships and their relevance for innovation in the workplace. Using a sample of 210 employees from 17 Spanish companies, a two-wave longitudinal design evaluated the mediational roles of mindfulness and engagement between leader–member exchange (LMX) quality and innovative work behavior (IWB) in an organizational context. Over the course of a year, two questionnaires were administered to measure LMX quality, mindfulness, engagement, and IWB. Results from structural equation modeling provided support for the hypothesized double-mediation model with a significant full double mediation. Findings suggested that mindfulness and engagement could be characteristic mechanisms of high-quality LMX that helps to facilitate innovation. Practical implications include its creative value in gaining a competitive edge over market competitors and helping organizations to find a sustainable source for their consistent growth through their human capital and innovative potential.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a broad term that usually refers to a diverse set of computational procedures that can mimic human decisions and/or processes so closely that they appear intelligent, being able, for example, to process quickly large volumes of data. AI is such a powerful tool that organisations are increasingly using it in various areas, including human resources (HR) management, especially in recruitment and selection functions. For instance, big data algorithms are highly instrumental in expanding the process of searching for candidates. However, there are several key questions that are still unresolved regarding ethical issues and the reactions and attitudes towards AI of its users (recruiters, selection managers and potential candidates), necessitating a more extensive empirical and systematic review of the literature at this level. In this context, this paper discusses AI and its applications in HR recruitment and selection processes, addressing the future trends and challenges defined in the existing literature.

The stereotypical gender traits used in self-descriptions could contribute to shape ambivalent sexist attitudes toward women, including antipathy toward women who appear to threaten the gender hierarchy (i.e., hostile sexist attitudes) and affection for women who embrace traditional feminine roles (i.e., benevolent sexism). Empirical evidence associates more stereotypically feminine traits with benevolent sexism and masculine traits with hostile sexism but does not offer a clear picture, likely because of the non-controlled effect of social desirability and other gender traits in those relationships. We examine whether self-ascribed masculine traits moderate the modulating influence of social desirability in the linkage between feminine traits and benevolent sexism, and whether self-ascribed feminine traits moderate the modulating effect of social desirability in the association between masculine traits and hostile sexist attitudes. Results reveal that stereotypical gender traits and social desirability are connected to benevolent and hostile sexism, although differently. The gendered profile of those with benevolent attitudes (i.e., participants who self-attribute largely feminine traits) is different from those with hostile attitudes (i.e., participants who self-ascribe mainly masculine traits). In addition, the need to gain others’ approval or, more importantly, to avoid their disapproval, leads individuals to offer more socially desirable responses that mask their hostility toward women, whereas this need is less evident when hiding benevolent attitudes. As benevolent sexism is more pervasive in society and, unlike hostile sexism, is not easily recognized as a type of prejudice, it is harder to counteract and, therefore, to eliminate.

Sustainable innovation is the cornerstone of economic growth and development of regions and nations, as well as of organizational competitiveness and success. Innovation is a complex process that relies on individuals and often implies social activities based on interaction with others. Higher Education (HE) is expected to prepare innovative and teamwork-competent individuals. However, it has been noted that, so far, HE has not really addressed the question of how to train innovative college students capable of working in teams. To face such challenges, incorporating active teaching and learning methodologies, such as game-based learning (GBL), could be of great utility, as well as conducting much more research about the effect of teamwork-related factors on IWB, such as teamwork engagement (TWE) and teambuilding (TB). Under this background, our aim was to test the predictor effect of teamwork competence (TWE) on IWB, exploring the moderating role of TWE and TB in a sample comprising 142 college students of Health Sciences and Social Work. Our obtained results, through a multiple additive moderation analysis, showed that TWC positively predicted IWB. Moreover, this effect was moderated by TWE and TB. Therefore, these findings set light around how to foster IWB in HE.