The curvilinear relationship between within-person creative self-efficacy and individual creative performance: the moderating role of approach/avoidance motivations

Abstract

Purpose

This research adopts a dynamic self-regulation framework to test whether there is a curvilinear relationship between creative self-efficacy and individual creative performance at the within-person level. Furthermore, to establish a boundary condition of the predicted relationship, the authors build a cross-level model and examine how approach motivation and avoidance motivation moderate the complex relationship between creative self-efficacy and individual creative performance.

Design/methodology/approach

To obtain results from a within-person analysis, the authors collect multi-source data from 125 technicians who provided monthly reports over an 8-month period.

Findings

The authors find evidence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between creative self-efficacy and individual creative performance at the within-person level and differential moderating effects of approach/avoidance motivations.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to challenge the assumption that creative self-efficacy always has a positive linear relationship with creativity. It provides a more complete view of the complex pattern between creative self-efficacy and creativity at the within-person level.

Citation

Li, C.-R., Yang, Y., Lin, C.-J. and Xu, Y. (2020), "The curvilinear relationship between within-person creative self-efficacy and individual creative performance: the moderating role of approach/avoidance motivations", Personnel Review, Vol. 49 No. 9, pp. 2073-2091. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2019-0171