When leaders and peers positively facilitate creativity: the moderating role of absorptive capacity

Abstract

Purpose

This article explores the complementarity between leader encouragement of creativity and knowledge-sharing among peers in enhancing employee creativity in the hotel context. The authors further examine the role of absorptive capability in setting a contextual condition under which creativity affects employee performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A web-based survey and face-to-face interviews were a means of two-round data collection while using a partial least squares technique for model estimation.

Findings

An analysis of 277 employees showed that leader encouragement and knowledge-sharing are important for creativity to drive performance. At high levels of absorptive capacity, employee performance increases rapidly as creativity increases.

Research limitations/implications

This article extends how the complementarity between leader encouragement and knowledge-sharing plays an important role in explaining employee creativity and performance under the boundary condition of absorptive capacity.

Practical implications

Organizational managers could embrace a future creativity–performance strategy by developing absorptive capacity with reward systems to optimize employee performance.

Originality/value

This article substantiates the role of leader encouragement and knowledge-sharing in enhancing the relationship between employee creativity and performance. The strength of this relationship is dependent on the positive moderation of absorptive capacity.

Citation

Thanh, B.T. and Tran, L.T.T. (2023), "When leaders and peers positively facilitate creativity: the moderating role of absorptive capacity", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 44 No. 2, pp. 274-290. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-04-2022-0164