Leaders can facilitate creativity: the moderating roles of leader dialectical thinking and LMX on employee creative self-efficacy and creativity
Journal of Managerial Psychology
ISSN: 0268-3946
Article publication date: 26 June 2020
Issue publication date: 25 August 2020
Abstract
Purpose
Research has shown that creative self-efficacy is an important antecedent of workplace creativity, but recent research indicates that this relationship may be moderated by contextual factors. The current study investigates whether leader dialectical thinking and leader member exchange moderate the relationship between employee creative self-efficacy and employee creativity.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey sample of 222 employees in 43 teams from Chinese high-tech companies was collected and HLM was used to test our research model.
Findings
The positive association between employee creative self-efficacy and employee creativity was strengthened when a leader displayed a dialectical thinking style. Additional analyses failed to find support for the moderating role of leader-member exchange (LMX).
Research limitations/implications
These findings establish leadership cognitive style as a potential boundary condition of the relationship between creative self-efficacy and employee creativity.
Practical implications
Companies can make an active effort in recruiting and training leaders who have a dialectical mindset as they can play significant roles in facilitating employee creativity.
Social implications
Technological advancement and innovation is important for social welfare. This paper helps to improve the efficiency of creativity processes and finally benefits the whole society.
Originality/value
This is the first introduction of the leader's dialectical thinking as a moderator of the relationship between creative self-efficacy and creativity.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Peter D. Harms for his insightful feedbacks and helpful suggestions on the draft and revisions of this paper. This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Project IDs: 71672155, 71672156) and Program for New Century Excellent Talents in Fujian Province University for the second author.
Citation
Han, G.H. and Bai, Y. (2020), "Leaders can facilitate creativity: the moderating roles of leader dialectical thinking and LMX on employee creative self-efficacy and creativity", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 35 No. 5, pp. 405-417. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-02-2019-0106
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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