Assessment of Employees' Workplace Risk-Taking Propensity and Workplace Risk-Taking Behaviour in Public-Sector Organizations: Evidence from Lusaka City Council, Zambia
Authors
Zambia Open University, School of Business Studies (Zambia)
Zambia Open University, School of Business Studies (Zambia)
Zambia Open University, School of Business Studies (Zambia)
Article Information
DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS.2026.100900210
Subject Category: Management
Volume/Issue: 10/9 | Page No: 2950-2979
Publication Timeline
Submitted: 2026-09-09
Accepted: 2026-09-14
Published: 2026-10-06
Abstract
This study assessed employees' workplace risk-taking propensity and actual workplace risk-taking behaviour among formal employees of Lusaka City Council, Zambia, and developed the Employee Workplace Risk-Taking Measurement Framework (EWRTMF). The study adopted a positivist research philosophy, a deductive research approach, and a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. Data were collected from 306 formal employees using a structured self-administered questionnaire comprising validated five-point Likert-scale items measuring workplace risk-taking propensity and actual workplace risk-taking behaviour. The questionnaire demonstrated acceptable internal consistency based on Cronbach's Alpha reliability analysis. Data were edited, coded, cleaned, and analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 27. Descriptive statistical techniques, including frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, and composite mean scores, were employed to summarise respondents' perceptions and compare workplace risk-taking propensity with actual workplace risk-taking behaviour.
Keywords
workplace risk-taking propensity; workplace risk-taking behaviour; employee behaviour; Employee Workplace Risk-Taking Measurement Framework (EWRTMF); public sector
Downloads
References
1. Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
2. Anderson, N. R., & West, M. A. (1998). Measuring climate for work group innovation: Development and validation of the Team Climate Inventory. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19(3), 235–258. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(199805)19:3<235::AID-JOB837>3.0.CO;2-C [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
3. Baer, M., & Frese, M. (2003). Innovation is not enough: Climates for initiative and psychological safety, process innovations, and firm performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(1), 45–68. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.179 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
4. Crant, J. M. (2000). Proactive behavior in organizations. Journal of Management, 26(3), 435–462. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600304 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
5. Dewett, T. (2004). Employee creativity and the role of risk. European Journal of Innovation Management, 7(4), 257–266. https://doi.org/10.1108/14601060410565010 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
6. García-Granero, A., Llopis, Ó., Fernández-Mesa, A., & Alegre, J. (2015). Unraveling the link between managerial risk-taking and innovation: The mediating role of a risk-taking climate. Journal of Business Research, 68(5), 1094–1104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.10.012 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
7. Highhouse, S., Brooks, M. E., & Greguras, G. J. (2022). Risk propensity: A meta-analysis of its nomological network. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 133, 103689. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2022.103689 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
8. Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263–291. https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
9. Nicholson, N., Soane, E., Fenton-O'Creevy, M., & Willman, P. (2005). Personality and domain-specific risk taking. Journal of Risk Research, 8(2), 157–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/1366987032000123856 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
10. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2015). The innovation imperative in the public sector: Setting an agenda for action. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264236561-en [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
11. Parker, S. K., Williams, H. M., & Turner, N. (2006). Modeling the antecedents of proactive behavior at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(3), 636–652. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.3.636 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
12. Rainey, H. G. (2014). Understanding and managing public organizations (5th ed.). Jossey-Bass. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
13. Sitkin, S. B., & Pablo, A. L. (1992). Reconceptualizing the determinants of risk behavior. Academy of Management Review, 17(1), 9–38. https://doi.org/10.2307/258646 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
14. Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1992). Advances in prospect theory: Cumulative representation of uncertainty. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 5(4), 297–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00122574 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
15. Wilde, G. J. S. (1982). The theory of risk homeostasis: Implications for safety and health. Risk Analysis, 2(4), 209–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.1982.tb01384.x [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
16. Wilde, G. J. S. (1994). Target risk: Dealing with the danger of death, disease and damage in everyday decisions. PDE Publications. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
Metrics
Views & Downloads
Similar Articles
- The Indirect Effect of Liquidity and Activity on Company Value with Profitability as an Intervening Variable
- Effect of Financial Skills, Knowledge, and Attitude on The Financial Behaviour of Clergy
- A Decade of Review: Trends in Budget Execution and Financial Performance of Development Projects in Tanzania (2014/15-2023/24)
- The Influence of Pre-Project Planning on the Budget Absorption Rate of Public Funded Infrastructure Projects in Kenya a Comparative Case Study of Narok, Migori, and Kisii County Government Projects
- Assessment of Factors Influencing Digital Transformation in Hotels’ Facility Management in Abuja Metropolis, Nigeria