Directional Relationship Between Creative Self-Efficacy & Intrinsic Motivation in Affecting Creatity

Ample research has examined creative self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation as important antecedents to employee creativity, but little is known about how the two relate to each other to foster employee creativity. Drawing on social cognitive theory, we propose two theoretical possibilities. First, capturing the critical role of efficacy beliefs in the self-regulation of motivation, we expect that creative self-efficacy can promote intrinsic motivation for creative activities, which in turn boosts employee creativity. Job autonomy further strengthens creative self-efficacy's effect on intrinsic motivation and employee creativity (through intrinsic motivation). Second, by fostering enactive mastery, intrinsic motivation can promote creative self-efficacy, which boosts employee creativity. Leader creative role modelling further amplifies the effect of intrinsic motivation on creative self-efficacy and employee creativity (through creative self-efficacy). We collect cross-lagged data from a sample of 421 dyads of employees and their supervisors. The results largely supported the hypothesized relationships, except the indirect relationship between intrinsic motivation and employee creativity via creative self-efficacy and the moderating effect of leader creative role modelling. We extend organizational creativity literature by untangling the interrelationship between creative self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation in shaping employee creativity.