Paradoxical leadership and employee creativity: the roles of harmonious work passion and proactive personality

Purpose The process of fostering and enhancing employee creativity (EC) is multifaceted and involves various challenges and contradictions, with paradoxical leadership (PL) playing a crucial role. However, previous research has neglected the importance of employee emotions, resulting in an incomplete understanding of the underlying mechanisms. To address this gap, this study draws upon the triadic reciprocal determinism of social cognitive theory to construct a moderated mediation model. The objective is to investigate the mediating role of harmonious work passion (HP) in the relationship between PL and EC. Furthermore, the study aims to explore the moderating effect of proactive personality (PP). Design/methodology/approach Two surveys were carried out in eight enterprises situated in China. A total of 337 employees took part in the questionnaire survey to explore the correlation between PL, PP and HP. Additionally, 42 supervisors participated in evaluating the creativity of their subordinates. To test the proposed hypotheses, this study utilized hierarchical regression analysis on a sample of supervisor-subordinate pairs. Findings Paradoxical leadership is positively correlated with employee harmonious work passion. Harmonious work passion is positively correlated with employee creativity. Harmonious work passion plays a mediating role between paradoxical leadership and employee creativity. Proactive personality moderates the relationship between paradoxical leadership and harmonious work passion. Proactive personality moderates the indirect effect of harmonious work passion on the relationship between paradoxical leadership and employee creativity. Practical implications The results of this study provide practical suggestions for improving EC. For example, organizations can select supervisors who exhibit PL qualities and enhance the training programs for leaders in the domain of paradoxical thinking. Furthermore, it is crucial for leaders to prioritize the development of employees' HP and to be attentive to the distinct individual variations present within their workforce. Originality/value This study enriches the research on the mediating and moderating mechanism between PL and EC and opens the black box from the perspective of emotion. Moreover, this research examines the boundary condition under which PL functions. The study reveals the interaction of environment, personality, cognition and emotion on creativity and provides a new perspective and empirical support for future research.