Idea development on the shop floor : A case study on a digital employee suggestion system

Purpose – Although employee suggestion systems (ESS) have been studied, little is known about shop floor workers' participation in a digital ESS in the context of limited digital access. Therefore, this study aims to investigate which factors shape the participation of shop floor workers in a digital ESS. Design/methodology/approach – The author conducted a single case study with 20 semi-structured interviews, observations, and desk research. Findings – The study finds several factors that shape shop floor workers' participation in a digital ESS. Digital access is found to be a necessary but not sufficient condition for successful participation in an ESS – also digital skills matter. Furthermore, it seems to be group access that matters instead of individual digital access. Generally, idea generation is found to be a group activity that can be enabled by supervisor support, training opportunities, face-to-face communication and by having dedicated idea generation experts, so-called ESS representatives, in a team. Also, the environmental and organizational context, such as the working environment or the Covid-19 pandemic influence the participation in a digital ESS. Practical implications – The results of this study offer practical insights for organizations that aim to foster shop floor workers' participation in a digital ESS. Originality/value – A conceptual model is introduced that summarizes the findings and outlines the factors that shape shop floor workers' participation in a digital ESS.