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How job complexity fosters employee creativity: a contextualized growth perspective and the mechanism of feedback-seeking

Wa Yang (Center for Human Resource Development and Assessment, School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China)
Jinqiang Zhu (School of Management, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China)
Shiyong Xu (Center for Human Resource Development and Assessment, School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China)
Yanjun Liu (School of Economics and Management, North China University of Technology, Beijing, China)
Dongying Luo (School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China)
Yixiao Wang (School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China)
Jia Yu (School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China)

European Journal of Training and Development

ISSN: 2046-9012

Article publication date: 18 July 2022

Issue publication date: 14 August 2023

528

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on the work design growth model (WDGM), this paper aims to explore the relationship between job complexity and employee creativity through feedback-seeking and the moderating effect of team leaders with a growth creative mindset.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used an online survey to test the hypotheses. Data was collected in three waves from 74 supervisors and 349 paired employees in China.

Findings

Job complexity had a positive association with employees’ feedback-seeking, which further linked to employee creativity. This indirect effect was stronger in work teams with leaders endorsing a growth creative mindset.

Practical implications

Job complexity has become prevalent in organizations today. Taking daily complexity as a resource for nurturing employee creativity may balance organizations’ costs on formal training and give them more initiatives in long-term development. In addition, as the growth creative mindset is relatively easy to assess and change, it may bring insights in terms of creativity development.

Originality/value

By empirically testing the behavioural mechanism of WDGM, the learning and development perspective of work design offers a new explanation of the relationship between job complexity and employee creativity. The authors further extend WDGM by identifying leaders’ growth creative mindset to be a boundary condition.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: This research was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 72101005).

Citation

Yang, W., Zhu, J., Xu, S., Liu, Y., Luo, D., Wang, Y. and Yu, J. (2023), "How job complexity fosters employee creativity: a contextualized growth perspective and the mechanism of feedback-seeking", European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 47 No. 7/8, pp. 830-845. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-03-2022-0024

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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