Smita Bahuguna
Graphic Era School of Management, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India.

Shwetank Avikal
Graphic Era School of Management, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India.

Khyati Kapil
Graphic Era School of Management, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India.

DOI https://doi.org/10.33889/IJMEMS.2026.11.5.091

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Abstract

In the modern business environment, employees’ innovative behavior has become an important determinant of sustainable development, particularly in the tourism and hospitality industry. This industry is highly competitive, dynamic, and service-oriented. It relies heavily on continuous innovation to optimize resource utilization, adopt sustainable practices, enhance customer experiences, and respond effectively to changing market demands. Employees’ innovative work behavior facilitates the development of new services and processes essential for achieving long-term sustainability and competitive advantage. It is the main driver of sustainable development, as it enables employees to generate novel ideas that improve service quality, organizational resilience and operational efficiency. Despite its significance, the promotion of innovative work behavior is often hindered by numerous organizational, individual, and environmental barriers. This study aims to examine the main barriers to innovative work behavior in the context of sustainable development within the tourism and hospitality industry. In the current study, data were collected from industry experts and professionals. The Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory technique is used to identify the causal relationships among these barriers and to distinguish between driving and dependent factors. The DEMATEL technique was applied by constructing and normalizing the direct-relation matrix, developing the total-relation matrix, and computing the prominence (R+C) and relation (R-C) indices to determine interrelationships and relative importance of the identified barriers. The findings of this study show that the primary obstacles to innovative work behavior for sustainable development are organizational and individual employee barriers. The study shows that innovative work behavior plays an important role in the growth of the organization. This study provides stakeholders, including business leaders and policymakers, with valuable insights to develop more effective, inclusive, and forward-thinking innovation strategies for sustainable tourism and hospitality businesses by examining the cause-and-effect relationships among the identified barriers. It contributes to sustainable organizational growth, consistent with Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Decent work and Economic Growth). It is essential for the development of service businesses that are not only economically advantageous but also socially equitable and environmentally responsible.

Keywords- Innovative work behavior, Innovative behavior, Sustainable development, Hospitality industry, Tourism industry, Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL).

Citation

Bahuguna, S., Avikal, S., & Kapil, K. (2026). Analyzing Barriers to Innovative Work Behavior for Sustainable Development. International Journal of Mathematical, Engineering and Management Sciences, 11(5), 2268-2291. https://doi.org/10.33889/IJMEMS.2026.11.5.091.