How team innovative work behaviour unfolds under top-down, incremental change in education: a longitudinal case

Samenvatting

Sustainable educational innovation requires teams that demonstrate Team Innovative Work Behaviour (TIWB). Although TIWB is often described as iterative and fluid, little is known about how it unfolds over time within teacher teams. This longitudinal qualitative case study examined TIWB in a team involved in a top-down, incremental curriculum redesign in higher education.  Over eight months, 19 recorded team meetings were analysed using a codebook based on five TIWB dimensions, complemented by interpretive depth cues such as counter-argumentation and collective sensemaking. TIWB followed a predominantly linear pattern aligned with the project phases, with one nested design subcycle emerging around assessment development during implementation. Idea generation and idea realization occurred frequently, whereas opportunity exploration and idea sustainability, especially external dissemination, were rare. The structured, top-down context and incremental nature of the innovation plausibly contributed to these patterns.  These findings offer a fine-grained view of how TIWB unfolds in practice and underscore the importance of stimulating sustainability-oriented behaviours from the start so that innovations are not only implemented but also sustained over time. The study provides practical guidance for strengthening sustainability within teams, including early agreement on design criteria, clearer dissemination roles, and reflective moments during meetings.