Employee Autonomy and Employee Creativity: The Mediating Role of Intrinsic Motivation

Abstract

Globally, improving the degree of self-development of workers is very critical for companies to promote sustainable development. In an attempt to find an appropriate way to motivate and empower employees to be creative, organizations and management experts have come to realize that employees’ operational autonomy and intrinsic motivation are paramount. This research explores how the connection between employee autonomy and employee innovation is mediated by employee intrinsic motivation. Using the Hayes Process model of mediation, we collected and analyzed data from a sample of 133 employees of selected institutions in Ghana. The findings show that the relationship between employee autonomy and employee creativity is mediated by employee intrinsic motivation. Thus, our analysis found that there is a significant connection between employee autonomy and creativity. Also, there was a significant relationship between employee autonomy and intrinsic motivation. Equally, we realized a significant relationship between intrinsic motivation and employee creativity. These findings highlight the need to develop more strategies and principles of motivation in organizations. The study recommends that policymakers in organizations attach the necessary attention to the intrinsic side of employees’ motivation for better performance to spur productivity.