Testing an alternative relationship between individual and contextual predictors of creative performance.

Abstract

Existing studies have been focused mainly on the effects of individual and contextual factors on creativity, leaving unaddressed the intermediate processes through which these predictors affect creativity. Based on previous theoretical arguments, we proposed that individuals' cognitive and affective states with regard to creativity comprise the direct antecedents of creative performance. Specifically, we hypothesized that creativity efficacy and positive attitude toward creativity mediate the effects on creative performance of individual creative ability, supportive leadership, and constructive group norms. The empirical results based on multisource, longitudinal panel data clearly indicate that these cognitive and affective process variables mediate the effects of both individual and contextual variables on creative performance. These findings reveal potential psychological processes that should be targeted when educators and managers design interventions to increase creative performance of individuals.