Premium
Toward Better Understanding of the Learning Goal Orientation–Creativity Relationship: The Role of Positive Psychological Capital
Author(s) -
Huang Lei,
Luthans Fred
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
applied psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.497
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1464-0597
pISSN - 0269-994X
DOI - 10.1111/apps.12028
Subject(s) - creativity , psychology , situational ethics , positive psychological capital , social psychology , mediation , context (archaeology) , goal orientation , sociology , social science , paleontology , biology
With employee creativity becoming increasingly critical to the competitiveness of today's organisations, there is a need to better understand and refine the role that positive psychological constructs such as learning goal orientation ( LGO ) and the now recognised psychological capital ( P sy C ap) may play in influencing creativity. In this study ( N = 405 software engineers nested in 56 teams from C hina), we drew from social learning theory and the theory of situational strength to test a cross‐level moderated mediation model and found that the positive relationship between LGO and P sy C ap was stronger in teams low in learning behavior (i.e. weaker situational strength) and that the indirect effect of LGO on creativity via P sy C ap was significant when team learning behavior was moderate or low. Thus, our study results indicate that when the team context is less favorable for learning behavior, LGO individuals can draw from their P sy C ap to generate creativity. The contributions to theory development, directions for future research, and practical implications conclude the article.