the case of the customs department in Thailand Kurkrit Chaisirikul creator Badir, Yuosre F. M. Chairperson Huynh, Trung Luong Examination Committee Winai Wongsurawat Examination Committee Wasan Luangprapat Examination committee Ministry of Finance, Thailand Scholarship Donor Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship Scholarship Donor text series technical report th Pathum Thani, Thailand Asian Institute of Technology 2021 continuing eng 154 leaves : ill. The employees{u2019} innovative work behavior has been recognized as a major drive for the organizational survival and sustainable growth. Their creativity and innovation become basic needs for contemporary organizations. Attention has been paid in previous literatures to find out the significance of it and the factors that contribute to innovative work behaviors while barrier factors have been neglected from researchers even though they are known as the cause of problems or the obstacles to the success of innovation. This study aims to investigate and understand the barriers for employees{u2019} innovative work behavior in public organization, with the case of the Customs Department, Thailand, by proposing three independent variables in job characteristics as barriers (High Job Demand, Low Rewards and Incentives, and Lack of resources) and a moderating variable in Leader-Member Exchange. The data has been assembled and analyzed according to the responses from 264 employees and 88 immediate supervisors from the Thai Customs Department. Structural Equation Modeling has been applied to analyze the relationships. The results reveal that job characteristic barriers have negatively influenced on employees{u2019} innovative work behavior. The results further indicate that Leader-Member Exchange significantly moderates the relationship between job characteristic barriers and employees{u2019} innovative work behavior by challenging the effect in the predictor outcome relationship. This study thereby makes advances in the literatures of public sector innovation and innovative work behavior. Additionally, the present study provides suggestions for management on how to mitigate the negative effect of job barriers on employees{u2019} innovative work behavior. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2021 Diversity in the workplace Work environment Employees Asian Institute of Technology. http://203.159.5.9/ait-thesis/detail.php?q=B19935 http://203.159.5.9/ait-thesis/detail.php?q=B19935 230915 20260817171050.0