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The purpose of the present research is to introduce a combined framework that integrates innovative work behavior, product innovation process and customer knowledge management; then, to explore the mediating effect of customer knowledge management in the relationship between innovative work behavior and the product innovation process.

The basis for the present research is a cross-sectional design. Data collection from 154 employees occurred using the following structured questionnaires: Customer Knowledge Management (CKM), Innovative Work Behavior (IWB) and Product Innovation Process (PIP). Data processing used SPSS version 26.0, including the PROCESS (3.5) macro analysis.

The results show positive relationships between innovative work behavior and the product innovation process (r = 0.420, p < 0.01). Pearson's correlation shows a coefficient of 0.42, meaning that 42% of the variations in perceived product innovation are due to variations in innovative work behavior. The second condition of the mediation test involved testing the relationship between the independent variable (Innovative Work Behavior) and the mediating variable (Knowledge Management) and showed a significant relationship (r = 0.272, p < 0.01). The findings suggested that knowledge management that other determinants supported, such as collaboration in idea exploration, idea championing and encouragement of participation in idea implementation, significantly contributed to the product innovation process (r = 0.509, p < 0.01). The bootstrapping method confirmed that innovative work behavior supports product innovation through the mediation of customer knowledge management (z = 3.01, p = 0.002).

The cross-sectional design, along with the relatively low number of participants and the self-reporting nature of the questionnaires, represent the current study's main limitations. Developing the research model could integrate new variables, such as customer co-creation processes, performance-based compensation, employee citizenship activities and transformational leadership.

This research has both theoretical and practical implications. These emphasize the importance of further investigation into the factors influencing companies' innovation processes. They also provide managers with a means of finding a fit between the deployment of customer knowledge mechanisms and the achievement of innovative workplace behavior, to improve innovation process efficiency.

The current study broadens the empirical research area of customer knowledge management and its impact on both innovative work behavior and the product innovation process, particularly in knowledge-intensive market scenarios that require organizations to be innovative.

During the Covid-19 outbreak, universities around the globe were closed or went online due to lockdowns implemented to curb the pandemic's spread. This study aims to examine the changes in Malaysian academics' job and life satisfaction during a testing four-month period, from the beginning of the first Covid-19 lockdown until two months after it ended. It also assesses the impact of affective states and age group on these two constructs.

In this longitudinal study, the authors collected data from 220 academics in Malaysia at three time points in 2020, namely the beginning of the lockdown (April), the end of the lockdown (June) and two months after the lockdown (August). The authors applied multivariate latent growth curve (LGC) modeling to study changes in job satisfaction and life satisfaction. In addition, we added age group, as a time-invariant covariate, as well as positive and negative affect, as two time-varying covariates, to our LGC model. The authors estimated the LGC model using the EQS 6.4 statistical package.

The results show that both job and life satisfaction were stable over time, although their means were below the average. Positive affect was a significant predictor of both types of satisfaction, and age group was a significant predictor of job satisfaction.

The main implication the authors draw from this study is connected to job and life satisfaction's mean values being below average. In line with the affective events theory (AET), the authors recommend paying particular attention to work environment features, such as providing sufficient infrastructure for employees working from home and keeping social relations intact. Especially young academics should receive sufficient support.

The study is one of a limited number that examined longitudinal effects during the Covid-19 pandemic in the domains of human resource management and organizational behavior. Hence, this study expands our knowledge of employees' affect and attitudes during an unprecedented global health crisis, particularly in the under-researched area of the Malaysian higher education sector.