Mediating mechanisms linking developmental feedback with employee creativity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate mediating mechanisms linking leaders’ developmental feedback with employee creativity and the moderating role of intrinsic motivation in the effects of employees’ skills on employee creativity. Design/methodology/approach Using data collected from 326 employees at information technology organizations in Vietnam, this study tested the hypotheses by using structural equation modeling. Findings The results show that leaders’ developmental feedback has a positive indirect relationship with employee creativity via creativity-relevant skills, domain-relevant skills and intrinsic motivation. There are no significant differences in the effects of developmental feedback on employee creativity through proposed mediators. Further, intrinsic motivation positively moderates the impact of domain-relevant skills on employee creativity. However, intrinsic motivation does not moderate the effect of creativity-relevant skills on employee creativity. Originality/value This research is one of the first efforts to investigate intrinsic motivation as a motivational mechanism as well as creativity-relevant skills and domain-relevant skills as cognitive mechanisms for understanding the relationship between leaders’ developmental feedback and employee creativity. This research also examines how intrinsic motivation moderates the effects of employees’ skills on employee creativity.