Roles of Creative Process Engagement and Leader–Member Exchange in Critical Thinking and Employee Creativity

Abstract

We examined the contingent value of individuals' critical thinking on their creativity at work by focusing on the generation of, process of, and solutions found, in developing novel and useful ideas. To extend previous research emphasizing individual characteristics, such as personality traits, we focused on the value of individuals' critical thinking and its impact on creativity. In the pretest, 442 employees completed a critical thinking questionnaire and then, in a field study, 211 dyads of managers and their subordinates completed the validated questionnaire. Results revealed a positive relationship between critical thinking and employee creativity, and creative process engagement completely mediated this relationship. Further, leader–member exchange was found to weaken the relationship between critical thinking and creative process engagement. Implications of the study for practice are discussed.