Reflexivity Mediates between Job Autonomy and Creative Problem Solving: The Moderating Effect of Employees' Self-expectations for Creativity

Abstract

Abstract: Creative problem solving has become a key factor to reflect the value of individual work and maintain the sustainable development for organizations. Creative problem solving involves complex, multifaceted, nonconventionally structured problems that require arduous and extensive cognitive reflexive processes, so how to improve employees' creativity problem solving capacity becomes one of the problems that need to be solved in the field of organizational management. This paper, based on the theory of goal orientation and sensemaking theory, constructs a moderated model of total effect to systematically investigate the mediating mechanism and situational effect between job autonomy and employee creative problem solving. The results of questionnaire data analysis at two time points show that: (1) job autonomy has a significant positive effect on creative problem solving; (2) reflexivity partially mediates between work autonomy and creative problem solving; and (3) employees' self-expectations for creativity reinforces the effect of job autonomy on creative problem solving. The conclusions deepen the mediation mechanism of reflexivity and its effectiveness, enrich the situational scope of employees' self-expectations for creativity, and provide a new thinking and management enlightenment for improving employee's creative problem solving.

Key words: job autonomy, reflexivity, employees' self-expectations for creativity, creative problem-solving

Tu Xingyong, Wang Yi, Liu Leijie, Zhang Yiping, Jiang Jing. Reflexivity Mediates between Job Autonomy and Creative Problem Solving: The Moderating Effect of Employees' Self-expectations for Creativity[J]. Management Review, 2023, 35(6): 182-192.

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