{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T09:24:35Z","timestamp":1787217875217,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787184000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behav. Sci.","Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Innovation is an everyday imperative in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, yet the psychological conditions through which well-being is associated with innovative action remain insufficiently understood. This study investigates whether subjective vitality and creative self-efficacy constitute distinct psychological pathways\u2014an energy-based and a belief-based mechanism, respectively\u2014through which psychological well-being becomes associated with innovative work behavior, thereby providing a more differentiated examination of the assumption that psychologically healthy employees are more likely to behave innovatively. An online survey was administered to 463 ICT-sector employees in T\u00fcrkiye, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test direct and indirect relationships with comprehensive assessment of measurement quality, predictive relevance, and effect sizes. Creative self-efficacy emerged as a meaningful indirect pathway linking psychological well-being to innovative work behavior, whereas subjective vitality, though strongly predicted by well-being, showed no significant relationship with innovative outcomes. These findings suggest that not all positive psychological states are equally innovation-relevant: among ICT employees, the indirect association between well-being and innovation was evident through employees\u2019 confidence in their own creative capability rather than through feelings of psychological energy\u2014a distinction with meaningful implications for both theory and practice in knowledge-intensive, digitally dynamic organizations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs16081433","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T08:10:20Z","timestamp":1787213420000},"page":"1433","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Psychological Well-Being and Innovative Work Behavior Among ICT Employees in T\u00fcrkiye: Comparing the Mediating Roles of Creative Self-Efficacy and Subjective Vitality"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4963-1172","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nagihan","family":"Kartal","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Economics, Administration, and Social Sciences, Istanbul Topkapi University, 34087 Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fazl\u0131","family":"Y\u0131ld\u0131r\u0131m","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Computer and Information Sciences, Yeditepe University, 34755 Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8049-3615","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mustafa","family":"Aslan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Applied Sciences, Istanbul Bilgi University, 34060 Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Alayo\u011flu, A. 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