The Role of Feedback-seeking Behavior In the Manifestation of Incremental/radical Creativity

Abstract

The central role of creativity and innovation in the survival of organizations is continuously receiving attention from both researchers and practitioners. Thus, considerable efforts are expended to identify individual and contextual factors that facilitate creative performance. Creative performance has been determined as a function of individual differences, organizational contexts, and the interaction between two factors. The present study primarily aims to understand the role of feedback-seeking behavior as a behavioral mechanism that directs individuals toward creative performance. Previous feedback and creativity studies are integrated and extended based on three criteria. First, the effect of feedback-seeking behavior is tested on the different forms (radical or incremental) of creativity. Prior literature on feedback-seeking behavior has mainly focused on feedback-seeking in the service of adapting to the setting, which is correspondent to incremental creativity. The present study endeavors to examine the effects of feedback-seeking behavior on the different forms of creativity—how these effects vary from one another, and if they are indeed different, through which mechanism variations can be produced. Second, the breadth and frequency of feedback-seeking behavior are considered. Creativity literature has consistently highlighted that diverse input and knowledge enhance creative performance. Accordingly, feedback-seeking breadth might matter as well as its frequency. Hence, this study attempts to determine how the different schemes of feedback-seeking behavior (combined frequency and breadth) affect the manifestations of different forms of creativity. Finally, I proposed three antecedents of feedback-seeking behavior for creative performance, based on theory of planned behavior. This study surveyed 228 team members in 50 teams in Korean organizations across various industries and used hierarchical linear modeling. The results showed that the feedback-seeking frequency has significant positive relationship with both types of creativity while the feedback-seeking breadth has curvilinear relationship with both types of creativity. And for the analysis regarding antecedents of feedback-seeking behavior, all of three suggested variables(task interdependence, group reflexivity, emotional intelligence) has significant positive relationship with the feedback-seeking frequency while only task interdependence and group reflexivity has significant relationship with the feedback-seeking breadth. The present study not only puts forward new possibilities for the creativity and feedback-seeking literature, but also provides organizations and employees the fresh motivation of focusing on individual proactive behavior as a creativity relevant skill and strategy that can encourage creative performance. The results indicate that individuals can improve creative performance by proactively seeking access to sources that provide diversified information and insights. The finding contributes to the initiative to transform the established belief that feedback seeking is a mere reactive strategy for adaptation into a new insight that feedback seeking is an effective individual resource that can be employed to manifest set-breaking creativity.