The Three-Way Interaction of Autonomy, Openness to Experience, and Techno-Invasion in Predicting Employee Creativity

Abstract

Despite the increasing need for creativity in rapidly evolving markets and work environments, not all employees are able to engage in this crucial behavior at work. The interactionist perspective suggests that creativity in organizations can be predicted by the interplay of individual and situational elements. With this theoretical framework, the study aimed to generate and develop insights into the job autonomy–employee creativity relationship by proposing and testing the joint moderating role of an individual (i.e., openness to experience) and contextual factor (i.e., techno-invasion). The sample (n = 435) drew from three sources (focal employees, their family members, supervisors) concerning the creativity of working professionals and what predicts it in a variety of industries. The findings reveal a curvilinear relationship between autonomy and creative behavior and the moderating effect of openness to experience in this relationship. Support is also found for the three-way interaction of autonomy, openness to experience, and techno-invasion in fostering creative behavior. Important theoretical and practical implications thus arise for establishing the work context of potentially creative individuals given different levels of technology demands and job conditions.