How Middle Managers’ Achievement Goals and Position Power Shape Their Reactions To Creative Input

Abstract

In the present experimental research, we examined the joint impact of middle managers’ achievement goals and position power on their responses to creative input voiced by a subordinate or superior. As hypothesized, rather than mastery goal middle managers, performance goal middle managers were sensitive to hierarchical position of the creative input sender. We demonstrated that performance goal middle managers were to a lower extent using an integrative approach and were using more time to write an email reaction in response to the creative input than mastery goal middle managers. However, these differences in responses only occurred when a subordinate rather than a superior voiced the creative input. The main results were replicated in a field study.