Creative Self-efficacy Research Articles

Is perfectionism a killer of creative thinking? A test of the model of excellencism and perfectionism.

The standards that a person pursue in life can be set in a rigid or flexible way. The recent literature has emphasized a distinction between high and realistic standards of excellence, from high and unrealistic standards of perfection. In two studies, we investigated the role of striving towards excellence (i.e., excellencism) and striving towards perfection (i.e., perfectionism) in relation to divergent thinking, associative thinking, and openness to experience, general self-efficacy, and creative self-beliefs. In Study 1, 279 university students completed three divergent thinking items, which called for creative uses of two common objects and to name original things which make noise. A measure of openness to experience was included. Results from multiple regression indicated that participants pursuing excellence tended to generate more answers and more original ones compared with those pursuing perfection. Openness to experience was positively associated to excellencism and negatively associated to perfectionism. In Study 2 (n = 401 university students), we replicated these findings and extended them to associative tasks requiring participants to generate chains of unrelated words. Additional individual differences measures included general self-efficacy, creative self-efficacy, and creative personal identity. The results suggested that excellencism was associated with better performance on divergent thinking and associative tasks, compared with perfectionism. Excellencism was positively associated with all four personality variables, whereas perfectionism was significantly and negatively associated with openness to experience only. Implications for the distinction between perfectionism and excellencism with respect to creative indicators are discussed. In addition, the paradoxical finding that perfection strivers had high creative self-efficacy and creative personal identity but lower openness to experience and poorer performance on objective indicators of creative abilities is discussed.

Student experience of creativity in Australian high school classrooms: A componential model

Drawing on the componential theory of creativity, we report on the development of a model for understanding students' experiences of creative school environments, based on survey responses from Grade 7 and 9 Australian students (N = 2538) across 13 high schools. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test for construct validity of scales, followed by structural equation modeling to estimate the fit of the hypothesised model to the data, and estimate direct and indirect relations between variables. Consistent with predictions based on the componential model, students' perceptions of the extent to which creativity was supported through classroom work had substantial direct relations with intrinsic motivation and creative self-efficacy. Also consistent with predictions, intrinsic motivation acted as a mediating variable for a number of pathways in the model. Demographic covariates were generally less salient than personality covariates. Implications for educational practice and future research are discussed.

How do ambidextrous leadership and self-efficacy influence employees' enterprise system use: an empirical study of customer relationship management system context

PurposeBased on leadership and self-efficacy theories, this study investigates how team-level ambidextrous leadership influences employees' enterprise system (ES) use via their self-efficacy.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected data from a cross-sectional survey including 218 employees working in 56 workgroups in a Chinese financial institution. The authors used a cross-level mediation analysis to test the research model.FindingsThe authors find that ambidextrous leadership influences employees' creative self-efficacy and performance self-efficacy and further improves employees' ES use. Moreover, creative self-efficacy mediates the relationship between ambidextrous leadership and explorative use, whereas performance self-efficacy mediates the relationship between ambidextrous leadership and both explorative and exploitative use.Originality/valueThis study first examines the relationships among ambidextrous leadership, self-efficacy and employees' ES use by developing a cross-level model. Furthermore, by considering ambidextrous leadership as an important team-level factor, this study extends a deeper understanding of ambidexterity theory of leadership in the ES context. In addition, our study extends self-efficacy theory by examining the mediating roles of the two types of self-efficacy (i.e. performance self-efficacy and creative self-efficacy) on ambidextrous leadership–ES use relationship.

Moderating Multiple Mediation Model of the Impact of Inclusive Leadership on Employee Innovative Behavior.

Leadership is an important antecedent variable of employee innovative behavior. In previous studies, the influence of inclusive leadership on employee innovative behavior mainly focus on one mediating variable, which may lead to a deviation in parameter estimation due to the omission of other mediating variables. According to the social cognitive theory and motivation theory and from the perspective of cognitive–motivation integration, this study establishes a moderating multi-mediation model to understand the impact of inclusive leadership on employee innovative behavior. Psychological safety and creative self-efficacy are used as mediating variables, and innovation rewards are used as moderating variables. The data are collected from 418 employees of the manufacturing industry in China. The results show that, at first, inclusive leadership has a positive effect on employee innovative behavior. Secondly, both psychological safety and creative self-efficacy play partial mediating effects between inclusive leadership and employee innovative behavior, with the effect of the former being significantly smaller than that of the latter. Thirdly, innovation rewards positively moderate the relationships of “psychological safety—employee innovative behavior” and of “creative self-efficacy—employee innovative behavior.” Fourthly, innovation rewards positively moderate the indirect effect of inclusive leadership on employee innovative behavior through psychological safety and creative self-efficacy. These findings are not only helpful to expand how inclusive leadership influences the innovative behavior of employees but also provides some suggestions for enterprise innovation development.

Individual Preferences in Creative Problem Construction

Creative problem-solving models generally identify a problem construction stage consisting in identifying opportunities, exploring knowledge, and framing the problem. Research on creativity has indicated that problem construction is key for the creative process. In this research, we identify individual profiles showing similar preferences towards the different tasks involved in problem construction. We highlight the characteristics of personality, creative preferences, and creative self-efficacy related to these profiles. Our data was collected from 279 students in management working on solving a complex problem during a guided creative workshop. Through a dynamic cloud typological analysis, we define three clusters related to preferences on problem construction tasks that differ according to the divergent or convergent nature of the tasks. The results of this study provide a better understanding of factors related to individual commitment in problem construction. JEL Codes: O310

Determinants of employee creative behavior in the UAE public sector

PurposeService levels between public organizations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) differ and fluctuate. Service levels were found to increase with the level of employee creative behavior (ECB), which is currently a focal point in organizational policies by the federal UAE government. While the literature presents an ample array of determinants of ECB, local context typically influences which determinants provide more leverage than others. Therefore, this research aims to present a customized ranking of determinants that enables managers in the UAE public sector to successfully stimulate ECB.Design/methodology/approachThrough a systematic literature review, this study identified 21 determinants at four different levels and subsequently utilized the analytic hierarchical process (AHP) to map their relative importance. Data were attained from 33 experts: managers and senior employees from different organizations.FindingsFindings indicate that, overall, the individual level is seen as the most important leverage point to stimulate ECB, followed by the team level. Comparing the determinants under each level, management support (organizational level) is perceived as the most impactful, followed by coworker support (team level), and enhancing creative self-efficacy (individual level).Originality/valueThis study compares obtained levels from other studies with new levels in building the AHP model. These insights guide managers in the UAE public sector who aim to enhance ECB, which will contribute to increased service quality. The study introduced a comprehensive ECB framework of 21 determinants. Even though many ECB studies applied in different countries and industries, but to researchers' knowledge, this is the first ECB study that applied at the UAE's public sector using the AHP model.

Creative through Time Pressure? A Cross-Level View on Creative Self-Efficacy & Knowledge Sharing

Creative ideas – and the innovations they enable – are key competitive advantages for organizations. However, as organizations need to innovate faster than their competitors in order to survive, the creative processes of individuals and teams are increasingly subject to time constraints. Drawing on the social cognitive theory and the social exchange theory, we investigate the relationship between time pressure and creativity at the individual and team level integrating two opposing mechanisms. We propose that at the individual level a motivational mechanism (namely creative self-efficacy) leads to a positive influence of time pressure on creativity, while on the team level a social mechanism (namely the lack of knowledge sharing) leads to a negative influence. We collected multi-source data from 138 team members and 27 supervisors participating in two product development programs. A multilevel analysis approach did not yield significant results, potentially due to insufficient statistical power. However, exploratory post hoc analyses revealed promising results: The individuals’ creative self-efficacy partially mediated this relationship. Team time pressure had a negative indirect effect on team creativity via team knowledge sharing. We discuss the implications of the findings for future research and organizations.

Ethical Leadership, Self-Efficacy, and Creative Performance: A Moderated Mediation Examination

This study presents a moderated mediation model of leadership influences by examining the effects of ethical leadership on employee creative performance, using data from 342 employees matched with their supervisors in small and medium organizations in Ghana. The study revealed that creative self-efficacy mediated the positive relationship between ethical leadership and employee creative performance from the SPSS macro PROCESS analysis. Additionally, job autonomy was identified as a situational moderator in the ethical leadership and employee creative self-efficacy relationship. Thus, the relationship between ethical leadership and employee creative self-efficacy was stronger as the job autonomy level rose. The theoretical contributions, practical implications as well as limitations, and future research directions were further discussed.

Organizational Learning Orientation Mediated Creative Self-efficacy Influence on Creativity

Organizational Learning Orientation Mediated Creative Self-efficacy Influence on Creativity

The relationship between need for cognition and adolescents’ creative self-efficacy: The mediating roles of perceived parenting behaviors and perceived teacher support

The relationship between need for cognition and adolescents’ creative self-efficacy: The mediating roles of perceived parenting behaviors and perceived teacher support

A mixed method evaluation of an integrated course in improving critical thinking and creative self-efficacy among nursing students

BackgroundCritical thinking and creative self-efficacy are important for nursing students to provide quality patient care in an increasingly complex healthcare environment. Educators play a role in cultivation of corresponding skills in university settings. ObjectivesTo develop an integrated course addressing the core elements of critical and creative thinking in one nursing program and evaluate its impacts on students' creative thinking disposition and creative self-efficacy. DesignA mixed methods study using a quasi-experimental comparative design and a descriptive qualitative analysis of students' reflective journals. SettingsA university pre-registration nursing program in Mainland China. ParticipantsA total of 68 second-year nursing students. MethodsThe course was developed as a sixteen-week two-hour program. It was comprised of 7 modules covering the concepts, pathways, and skills of critical and creative thinking, related tools and the application in nursing. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected before and after the course to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the course effects. Quantitative outcomes included students' level of creative thinking disposition and creative self-efficacy measured by specific scales; qualitative outcomes were obtained through student journals. Paired sample t-tests were performed to compare the changes between pre- and post-tests. Thematic analysis was applied to analyze the qualitative data from students' reflective journals. ResultsQuantitative data showed that except in the self-confidence and originality dimensions, students' scores of overall creative thinking disposition, creative self-efficacy, and other dimensions were significantly improved after the 16-week course. Qualitative data revealed that students' understanding and practice of creative thinking and creative self-efficacy were deeply shaped by the social, cultural, and educational contexts. ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that an integrated course of critical and creative thinking exerted distinct impacts on increased levels of creative thinking dispositions and creative self-efficacy among second-year nursing students in China. Students favored and benefited from the course in both personal and professional domains.

How does leader self-deprecating humor affect creative performance? The role of creative self-efficacy and power distance

Creative performance affects the achievement of an enterprise's financial objectives to a great extent. As the agent of an organization, a leader's influence on followers’ creative performance has been widely examined. In recent years, testing humorous leadership as one of the new leadership styles has related it to employee attitudes and behaviors. However, since the concept includes both positive and negative aspects, the effects of leader humor have not met in a consistent conclusion. Therefore, this study seeks to investigate the role of the unique aspect of leader humor, namely, self-deprecating humor, on subordinates’ creative performance in a Chinese context. The empirical results show that leader self-deprecating humor negatively relates to employee creative performance, through employee creative self-efficacy, and employee power distance moderates the process.

Service innovative work behavior in the hotel firms: The role of servant leadership and harmonious passion

ABSTRACT The current paper proposes to study the role of servant leadership in enhancing harmonious passion among employees, and further to ascertain if harmonious passion acts as a mediating mechanism linking servant leadership and service innovative work behavior (IWB). This study also recognizes the importance of creative self-efficacy as the boundary condition between harmonious passion and service IWB. Data were collected from employees working in four- and five-star hotels of Pakistan with a sample of 220 participants. Research findings provided justification for the mediating effect of harmonious passion for servant leadership-service IWB linkage. Furthermore, the relationship between harmonious passion and service IWB was strengthened to the extent that harmoniously passionate employees showed higher creative self-efficacy. Practitioners looking to enhance harmonious passion and service IWB can do so by developing the servant leadership qualities of managers. This paper carries value as the literature pertaining to harmonious passion is still small but increasing and enriches knowledge in understanding the role of servant leadership as reaping the service IWB benefits of harmonious passion among employees in the hospitality industry.

I Feel Like I Am Flying and Full of Life: Contemporary Dance for Parkinson's Patients.

Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms which are strongly associated with patients’ quality of life, affecting social skills and support. It strikes not only the motor abilities but may harm cognitive and emotional functioning. For the past 15 years, contemporary dance has been employed as an intervention to help people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease cope physically and mentally by way of motor, vestibular, and sensory stimulation as well as social interaction. In this study we aimed to examine psychological flexibility, creative self-efficacy and quality of life of Parkinson’s patients participating in contemporary dance sessions. To obtain this goal we conducted a cross-sectional comparative study of 50 Parkinson’s patients aged 50–87 years, half of which had been participating for at least 3 months once a week, in contemporary dance classes, and the matched controls participated in a verbal support group. Study participants completed questionnaires after participating in a dance class (Intervention) or in a support group (control). Participants in the intervention group were also asked to answer three open-ended questions that examined the experience of participating in contemporary dance classes. We found that psychological flexibility and quality of life were significantly higher in the dance class participants. Participants reported positive changes that occur in their overall feeling and quality of life following their participation in dance classes. Since PD patients’ experiences are deeply embedded in the body, it is significant to explore the use of movement in treatment. The importance of the study is in its potential to highlight the relationship between psychological flexibility and quality of life and to increase awareness of clinicians treating Parkinson’s patients to the importance of incorporating dance as an inherent part of a multidisciplinary team effort.

Fostering Creative Performance of Platform Crowdworkers: The Digital Feedback Dilemma

ABSTRACT With crowdsourcing increasingly contributing to organizations’ innovative performance, it becomes more and more important for them to cultivate the creativity of their crowdsourcing communities. While digital feedback is the main, if not the only, two-way channel of communication between the platforms and the crowdworkers, little is yet known about how to use digital feedback to manage and foster the creative performance of crowdworkers. This study examines how the provision and nature of feedback, provided virtually through online interfaces, influence creative performance. We argue that the alleged positive relationship between the creative self-efficacy of crowdworkers and creative performance is conditional upon the joint effect of digital feedback valence and the degree to which crowdworkers focus on learning as achievement outcomes. We conducted a two-stage experimental study with 298 participants in a crowdsourcing setting. The results show that feedback provided in virtual settings, irrespective of whether the feedback is positive or negative, can be perceived as surveillance and thus hurt the creative performance of crowdworkers with high creative self-efficacy but low mastery goal orientation. However, the results also show that when receiving negative feedback, community members who have high creative self-efficacy and mastery goal orientation try harder in subsequent creative tasks. Accordingly, we advocate for nurturing platform cultures that emphasize both confidence in the contributor’s own competence and the abilities to learn and develop.

Creative productive eminence in talented women: Beliefs, motivation, and drive to create

ABSTRACT Little research has been conducted on creative, eminent women across different domains, perceptions of their own creativity, and what drives their creative productivity. This research used qualitative, comparative case study methodology to investigate 15 creative women who were identified as highly innovative across diverse domains. Interviews were conducted and biographical information collected about each eminent woman’s work in various fields including: Literature, History, Psychology, Biology, Genomics, Pharmacology, Engineering, Business and Art. The study investigated paths taken and choices made over decades as these women reached high levels of creative achievement and made transformational contributions in their field or domain. Each woman believed she was creative, had strong creative self-efficacy, and explained her drive to create as deriving from love and passion for her chosen work. These creative women actively strived and managed obstacles to serve as agents of positive change, transform or improve their disciplines, and use their creativity to make a positive impact and difference in the world. Their experiences provide insights into the decisions and strategies that enabled them to achieve high levels of innovation, which may help inform and inspire other women in the pursuit of creative productive giftedness.

Attention effect on student's creative self-efficacy and the role of gender

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the functioning of students’ attention, their creative abilities and creative self-efficacy in math and language depending on their gender. The study included a randomly selected sample of 523 middle school students (53.2% girls and 46.8% boys). The results of the study show that focus of attention is a significant predictor of creative self-efficacy in the case of girls, but not among boys, while fluency of thinking is an important predictor of creative self-efficacy only in the group of boys. The results of the study are discussed in the light of research on the relationships between focus of attention and creative performance and the differences in the socialisation of girls and boys.

Measuring Creative Self-Efficacy: An Item Response Theory Analysis of the Creative Self-Efficacy Scale.

Applying the graded response model within the item response theory framework, the present study analyzes the psychometric properties of Karwowski’s creative self-efficacy (CSE) scale. With an ethnically diverse sample of US college students, the results suggested that the six items of the CSE scale were well fitted to a latent unidimensional structure. The scale also had adequate measurement precision or reliability, high levels of item discrimination, and an appropriate range of item difficulty. Gender-based differential item functioning analyses confirmed that there were no differences in the measurement results of the scale concerning gender. Additionally, openness to experience was found to be positively related to the CSE scale scores, providing some support for the scale’s convergent validity. Collectively, these results confirmed the psychometric soundness of the CSE scale for measuring CSE and also identified avenues for future research.

Transformational Leadership Relationship with Employee Creativity: The Moderating Effect of Knowledge Sharing and Mediating Effect of Creative Self-Efficacy

Sustainable competitive advantage is the ultimate goal of numerous creative oriented firms. Therefore, this study’s purpose is to investigate the relationship amongst transformational leadership and employee creative performance with the intervening mechanism of creative self-efficacy, furthermore, this study’s purpose is to examine the knowledge sharing culture moderating role amongst transformational leadership and creative self-efficacy. A quantitative survey methodology was used for data collection, and 150 questionnaires have been circulated to employees employed in the private banking sector situated within twin city premises. This study’s result indicated that transformational leadership and employee creative performance have significant relationships with each other, moreover, creative self-efficacy mediates amongst that relationship. Furthermore, knowledge sharing culture does not moderate amongst transformational leadership and creative self-efficacy. Practical implications and limitations have been discussed. Likewise, the future direction is also recommended in this study.

Shared leadership and innovative behavior in scientific research teams: a dual psychological perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanism of shared leadership on team members’ innovative behavior.Design/methodology/approachPaired questionnaires were collected from 89 scientific research teams in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of China at two-time points with a time lag of 4 months. Then multilevel structural equation model method was applied to analyze the multiple mediating effects.FindingsThis study finds that: the form of shared leadership in scientific research teams of universities; shared leadership has a positive impact on team members’ innovative behavior; there are multiple mediations in the relationship including synchronization and sequence of creative self-efficacy and achievement motivation.Originality/valueAccording to the “stimulus-organism-response” model, this paper has constructed a multi-level theoretical model that shared leadership influences individual innovation behavior and reveals the “black box” from the perspective of psychological mechanism. It not only verifies that “can-do” shapes “willing to do” but also makes up for the gap of an empirical test of the effectiveness of shared leadership in scientific research teams of universities. Besides, the formal scale of shared leadership in the Chinese situation is revised, which can provide a reference for future empirical research on shared leadership. The research conclusions provide new ideas for improving the management of scientific research teams in universities.