Stimulating employee creativity by providing developmental feedback

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of task-efficacy and information exchange in linking the relationship between developmental feedback and employee creativity. In addition, this current paper tests the moderating role of innovative climate in reinforcing the effects of task-efficacy and information exchange on employee creativity. Design/methodology/approach: This current research used a time-lagged questionnaire survey to reduce the potential problem of common method variance. The sample size of this study was 305 employees from information technology companies in southern Vietnam. This research undertook a hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses. Findings: The results found that task-efficacy and information exchange fully meditated the relationship between developmental feedback and employee creativity. Furthermore, innovative climate positively moderated the effects of task-efficacy and information exchange on employees’ creative performance. Originality/value: This current paper is one of the first studies to examine task-efficacy as a motivational mechanism and information exchange as a cognitive mechanism for understanding the relationship between developmental feedback and employee creativity. This paper is also one of the first attempts to investigate whether innovative climate reinforces the effects of task-efficacy and information exchange on employee creativity.