Skip to main content
Search
Search
    Quick Search anywhere
    Quick search in Citations
Advanced Search
Skip main navigationClose Drawer MenuOpen Drawer Menu
Previous article
Next article
Original Article

When Is Task Conflict Translated Into Employee Creativity?

The Moderating Role of Growth Need Strength

Published Online:January 03, 2018https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000192

Abstract

Abstract. The literature shows that task conflict plays an important role in the team operation process, but little is known about who exhibits greater creativity when in conflict, leading the team toward greater creativity. To enhance understanding of employee creativity, this study proposed that task conflict has a curvilinear relationship with employee creativity and that employees’ growth need strength moderates the relationship. A cross-level investigation of employee creativity within 59 groups of employees from multiple Chinese companies was conducted. The results showed that task conflict has an inverted U-shaped relationship with employee creativity. Growth need strength was found to have a moderating effect on the relation between task conflict and employee creativity. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

References

  • Aiken, L. S. & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Amabile, T. M. (1983). The social psychology of creativity: A componential conceptualization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 357–376. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.45.2.357 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Amabile, T. M. (1988). A model of creativity and innovation in organizations. In B. M. StawL. L. CummingsEds., Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 10, pp. 123–167). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity in context. Boulder, CO: Westview. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Amabile, T. M. & Pratt, M. C. (2016). The dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations: Making progress, making meaning. Research in Organization Behavior, 36, 157–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2016.10.001 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Anderson, N., Potočnik, K. & Zhou, J. (2014). Innovation and creativity in organizations: A state-of-the-science review, prospective commentary, and guiding framework. Journal of Management, 40, 1297–1333. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314527128 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Baer, M. (2012). Putting creativity to work: The implementation of creative ideas in organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 55, 1102–1119. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2009.0470 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Baer, M. & Oldham, G. R. (2006). The curvilinear relation between experienced creative time pressure and creativity: Moderating effects of openness to experience and support for creativity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 963–970. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.4.963 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Bliese, P. D. (2000). Within-group agreement, non-independence, and reliability: Implications for data aggregation and analysis. In K. J. KleinS. W. J. KozlowskiEds., Multilevel theory, research and methods in organizations (pp. 349–381). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Brislin, R. W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1, 185–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910457000100301 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Broadbent, D. (1958). Perception and communication. London, UK: Pergamon. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Brunstein, J. C. & Heckhausen, H. (2008). The achievement motive. In H. HeckhausenJ. HeckhausenEds., Motivation and action. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Chen, M. H. (2006). Understanding the benefits and detriments of conflict on team creativity process. Creativity and Innovation Management, 15, 105–116. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8691.2006.00373.x First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • De Dreu, C. K. W. (2006a). Rational self-interest and other orientation in organizational behavior: A critical appraisal and extension of Meglino and Korsgaard (2004). Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1245–1252. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.6.1245 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • De Dreu, C. K. W. (2006b). When too little or too much hurts: Evidence for a curvilinear relationship between task conflict and innovation in teams. Journal of Management, 32, 83–107. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305277795 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • De Dreu, C. K. W., Nijstad, B. A. & van Knippenberg, D. (2008). Motivated information processing in group judgment and decision making. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12, 22–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868307304092 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • De Dreu, C. K. W. & Weingart, L. R. (2003). Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 741–749. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.4.741 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • De Dreu, C. K. W., Weingart, L. R. & Kwon, S. (2000). Influence of social motives on integrative negotiation: A meta-analytic review and test of two theories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 889–905. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.78.5.889 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • de Wit, F. R. C., Jehn, K. & Scheepers, D. (2013). Task conflict, information processing, and decision-making: The damaging effect of relationship conflict. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 122, 177–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.07.002 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Farh, J. L., Lee, C. & Farh, C. I. C. (2010). Task conflict and team creativity: A question of how much and when. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 1173–1180. https://doi.org/1173-1180.10.1037/a0020015 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Farmer, S. M., Tierney, P. & Kung-McIntyre, K. (2003). Employee creativity in Taiwan: An application of role identity theory. Academy of Management Journal, 46, 618–630. https://doi.org/10.2307/30040653 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Fukukura, J., Ferguson, M. J. & Fujita, K. (2013). Psychological distance can improve decision making under information overload via gist memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 142, 658–665. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030730 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Gong, Y., Cheung, S. Y., Wang, M. & Huang, J. C. (2012). Unfolding the proactive process for creativity: Intergration of the employee proactivity, information exchange, and psychological safety perspectives. Journal of Management, 38, 1611–1633. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310380250 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Graen, G. B., Scandura, T. A. & Graen, M. R. (1986). A field experimental test of the moderating effects of growth need strength on productivity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 484–491. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.71.3.484 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Grant, A. M. & Schwartz, B. (2011). Too much of a good thing: The challenge and opportunity of the inverted U. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 61–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691610393523 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hackman, J. R. & Oldham, G. R. (1975). Development of the job diagnostic survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, 159–170. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0076546 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hackman, J. R. & Oldham, G. R. (1980). Work redesign. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • He, Y., Ding, X. H. & Yang, K. (2014). Unpacking the relationships between conflicts and team innovation. Management Decision, 52, 1533–1548. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-03-2014-0127 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hofmann, D. A. & Gavin, M. B. (1998). Centering decisions in hierarchical linear models: Implications for research in organizations. Journal of Management, 24, 623–641. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0149-2063(99)80077-4 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Huang, X. & Iun, J. (2006). The impact of subordinate-supervisor similarity in growth-need strength on work outcomes: The mediating role of perceived similarity. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27, 1121–1148. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.415 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hülsheger, U. R., Anderson, N. & Salgado, J. F. (2009). Team-level predictors of innovation at work: A comprehensive meta-analysis spanning three decades of research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 1128–1145. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015978 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Huselid, M. A. & Day, N. E. (1991). Organizational commitment, job involvement, and turnover: A substantive and methodological analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 380–391. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.76.3.380 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Jehn, K. (1995). A multimethod examination of the benefits and detriments of intragroup conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 256–282. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393638 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Jehn, K. (1997). A qualitative analysis of conflict types and dimensions in organizational groups. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42, 530–557. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393737 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Jha, S. (2010). Need for growth, achievement, power, and affiliation: Determinants of psychological empowerment. Global Business Review, 11, 379–393. https://doi.org/10.1177/097215091001100305 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Jöreskog, K. G. & Sörbom, D. (2004). LISREL 8.7 for Windows [Computer software]. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Kanter, R. M. (1988). When a thousand flowers bloom; Structural, collective, and social conditions for innovation in organization. In B. M. StawL. L. GummingsEds., Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 10 pp. 169–211). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Leenders, R. Th. A. J., van Engelen, J. M. L. & Kratzer, J. (2003). Virtuality, communication, and new product team creativity: A social network perspective. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 20, 69–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0923-4748(03)00005-5 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Li, Y., Fu, F. Y., Sun, J. M. & Yang, B. Y. (2016). Leader-member exchange differentiation and team creativity: An investigation of nonlinearity. Human Relations, 69, 1121–1138. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726715597481 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Mathieu, J. E. & Taylor, S. R. (2007). A framework for testing meso-mediational relationships in organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28, 141–172. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.436 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Meier, L. L., Gross, S., Spector, P. E. & Semmer, N. K. (2013). Relationship and task conflict at work: Interactive short-term effects on angry mood and somatic complaints. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 18, 144–156. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032090 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Pelled, L. H., Eisenhardt, K. M. & Xin, K. R. (1999). Exploring the black box: Analysis of work group diversity, conflict, and performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.2307/2667029 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Pierce, J. R. & Aguinis, H. (2013). The too-much-of-a-good-thing effects in management. Journal of Management, 39, 313–338. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311410060 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Pirola-Merlo, A. & Mann, L. (2004). The relationship between individual creativity and team creativity: Aggregating across people and time. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 235–257. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.240 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y. & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Raudenbush, S. W. & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Rispens, S. (2012). The influence of conflict issue importance on the co-occurrence of task and relationship conflict in teams. Applied Psychology, 61, 349–367. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2011.00473.x First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Rosing, K., Frese, M. & Bausch, A. (2011). Explaining the heterogeneity of the leadership-innovation relationship: Ambidextrous leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 22, 956–974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.07.014 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Schüler, J., Sheldon, K. M. & Fröhlich, S. M. (2010). Implicit need for achievement moderates the relationship between competence need satisfaction and subsequent motivation. Journal of Research in Personality, 44, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2009.09.002 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Shalley, C. E., Gilson, L. L. & Blum, T. C. (2009). Interactive effects of growth need strength, work context, and job complexity on self-reported creative performance. Academy of Management Journal, 52, 489–505. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2009.41330806 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Shalley, C. E., Zhou, J. & Oldham, G. R. (2004). The effects of personal and contextual characteristics on creativity: Where should we go from here? Journal of Management, 30, 933–958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jm.2004.06.007 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Shaw, J. D., Zhu, J., Duffy, M. K., Scott, K. L., Shih, H. & Suasnto, E. (2010). A contingency model of conflict and team effectiveness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 391–400. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021340 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Shin, S. & Zhou, J. (2007). When is educational specialization heterogeneity related to creativity in research and development teams? Transformational leadership as a moderator. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1709–1721. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.6.1709 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Sinha, R., Janardhanan, N. S., Greer, L. L., Conlon, D. E. & Edwards, J. R. (2016). Skewed task conflict in teams: What happens when a few members see more conflict than the rest? Journal of Applied Psychology, 101, 1045–1055. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000059 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Snijders, T. & Bosker, R. (1999). Multilevel Analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London, UK: Sage. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Wanous, J. P. (1974). Individual differences and reactions to job characteristics. Journal of Applied Psychology, 59, 616–622. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0037337 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • West, M. A. & Anderson, N. R. (1996). Innovation in top management teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 680–693. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.81.6.680 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • West, M. A. & Richter, A. W. (2008). Climates and cultures for innovation and creativity at work. In J. ZhouC. E. ShalleyEds., Handbook of organizational creativity (pp. 211–236). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Woodman, R. W., Sawyer, J. E. & Griffin, R. W. (1993). Toward a theory of organizational creativity. Academy of Management Review, 18, 293–321. https://doi.org/10.2307/258761 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Wu, C. H., Parker, S. K. & de Jong, J. P. J. (2014). Need for cognition as an antecedent of individual innovation behavior. Journal of Management, 40, 1511–1534. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311429862 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Zargar, M. S., Vandenberghe, C., Marchand, C. & Ayed, A. K. (2014). Job scope, affective commitment, and turnover: The moderating role of growth need strength. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87, 280–302. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12046 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Zhou, J. & Hoever, I. J. (2014). Research on workplace creativity: A review and redirection. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behaviors, 1, 333–359. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091226 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar