Employee proactivity and proactive initiatives towards creativity: exploring the roles of job crafting and initiative climate

Purpose Although previous research has shown that proactive initiatives are mostly related to performance- and creativity-related outcomes, the questions of “how” and “when” proactivity brings about creativity are not still fully answered. This conceptual investigation aims to explain the intervening role of job crafting by conceptualising it as a behavioural mechanism that employees engage in to increase their functioning. Besides, this study examines initiative climate as a contextual factor that shapes this intervening mechanism. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on job demands-resources (JD-R) theory, we put forward propositions explaining how proactive employees engage in promotive and preventive forms of job crafting, which results in creative outcomes. This study’s theoretical approach also illuminates the person–context interaction in creativity research by incorporating initiative climate. Findings This study underscores the behavioural and contextual determinants of the employee proactivity and creativity relationship. This study discussed how proactive employees reveal their creative potential by engaging not only in promotive job crafting but also in preventive job crafting. Besides, this study suggested that a sufficient level of initiative climate might be a prerequisite for enacting proactive behaviour. Originality/value This study attempted to contribute to the current understanding of employee proactivity and creativity literature by conceptually investigating this relationship from the JD-R perspective. Therefore, in addition to the predictable outcomes of promotive job crafting, we also underscored the temporal role of preventive job crafting on employee creativity. Besides, this study stressed that initiative climate reflects a crucial contextual determinant in this relationship.