创造力自我效能感与员工创新行为的关系:一个跨层分析

The Relationship between Creative Self-efficacy and Employees' Innovative Behavior: A Cross-level Analysis

本文以国内13家大型企业集团75个工作团队共334名团队成员为研究对象,运用结构方程模型和分层线性模型分析技术,探讨了创造力自我效能感对员工创新行为的作用机制。结果表明,创造力自我效能感对员工创新行为有显著的正向影响,知识共享在其中起完全中介作用;工作单位结构作为重要的情景因素,调节创造力自我效能感同员工知识共享之间的关系:相对机械式结构而言,在有机式结构中,高创造力自我效能感的员工在工作中会表现出更多的知识共享;工作单位结构调节创造力自我效能感同员工创新行为之间的关系:相对机械式结构而言,在有机式结构中,具有高创造力自我效能感的员工在工作中会表现出更多的创新行为。

Prior most researches have presented that, the positive relation between creative self-efficacy and both employees＇ knowledge sharing and innovative behavior. However, in previous studies, no clear conclusions have been drawn on the relationship between creative self-efficacy and both employees＇ knowledge sharing and inno- vative behavior. This study is to examine a conceptual model to identify the roles of creative self-efficacy predicts both employees＇ knowledge sharing and innovative behavior in China. Meanwhile, we also discuss conceptualizing work unit structure with regard to context and multiple levels of analysis. That is, examine whether work unit struc- ture moderates the relationship between creative self-efficacy and employees＇ knowledge sharing, or moderates the relationship between creative self-efficacy and employees＇ innovative behavior. And examine whether knowledge sharing mediates the link between creative self-efficacy and employees＇ innovative behavior The sample is constituted of 75 teams comprising 334 employees collected from 13 large companies in China. The questionnaire for employee included creative self-efficacy, knowledge sharing and innovative behavior. The questionnaire for team included work unit structure. Creative self-efficacy, knowledge sharing and innovative be- havior were rated by employees, while work unit structure was rated by employees and their immediate supervisors. Theoretical hypotheses were tested by hierarchical linear modeling. We explored three models to test individual-lev- el effects, team-level effects, and cross-level interaction effects on employee innovative behavior respectively. At individual level, we examine the relationship both between creative self-efficacy and innovative behavior and be- tween creative self-efficacy and knowledge sharing. At cross level, we also examine whether work unite structure has a moderate effect both between creative self-efficacy and individual innovative behavior and between creative self-efficacy and knowledge sharing. As the result showed, creative self-efficacy had positive effect on innovative behavior; knowledge sharing was found mediated the relationships of creative self-efficacy to innovative behavior; creative self-efficacy had positive effect on knowledge sharing; work unit structure moderated the relationship between creative self-efficacy and knowledge sharing such that the relationship were stronger in organic than in mechanistic structure; meanwhile, work unit structure moderated the relationship between creative self-efficacy and innovative behavior such that the relationship were stronger in organic than in mechanistic structures. The findings of this study revealed support for the hypotheses about the processes linking creative self-efficacy to employees＇ innovative behavior. The present study demonstrated that, creative self-efficacy had positive effect on both employees＇ knowledge sharing and innovative behavior, and its effect on both employees＇ knowledge sharing and innovative behavior was moderated by work unit structure, and even through there was the full mediation role of knowledge sharing. The practical implications of our study stem from the moderating role of work unit structure in the creative self-efficacy- employees＇ innovative behavior relationship, Given that organic structures may constitute facilitative contexts for cre- ative self-efficacy and its consequences, It appears that the defining attributes of organic structures such as decen- tralization of decision making and communication in the form of consultation. In such a context, creative self-effica- cy may promote employees＇ innovative behavior, while in the context of mechanistic structures, mechanistic struc- tures moderates the relationship between creative self-efficacy and employees＇ innovative behavior such that the rela- tionship will be weaker in mechanistic than in organic structures. Based on the findings, it is suggested that, Or- ganizations should be designed to approximate the features of organic structures. Characterized by empowerment of employees through decentralized decision-making and by communication in the form of consultation rather than of order giving, organic structures provide a promoting context for employees＇ innovative behavior. This opens the ＂black box＂ that creative self-efficacy affect on employees＇ innovative behavior.