Thinking Outside of the Box When the Box Is Missing: Role Ambiguity and Its Linkage to Creativity

Abstract

Integrating cognitive evaluation theory with creativity literature, this study theorized and found a curvilinear relationship between role ambiguity and creativity, with a moderate amount of role ambiguity being the most conducive to work creativity. Tolerance of ambiguity moderated this curvilinear relation, suggesting that employees who have a high tolerance of ambiguity exhibit higher creativity in the situation of intermediate role ambiguity than those who have a lower tolerance of ambiguity. To further build the theory linking the interactive effect of role ambiguity and tolerance of ambiguity on creativity, this study investigated and found a mediating effect of creative self-efficacy. Two hundred and forty-two graduate students in business or a related field participated in the laboratory experiments. Two different experimental tasks were used to address the inherent limitations and bias associated with a single task in experimental studies. It is the first study that demonstrates an inverted U-shape relation between role ambiguity and employee creativity. Detailed theoretical contributions, practical implications, and future research directions are discussed.