Cross-level impact of team goal orientation and individual goal orientation on individual creativity

This study explored how individual and team-level goal orientation influence individual creativity in a work setting. By creating a cross-level theoretical framework, we tested 562 members of 81 teams currently working in various companies in China. The study analyzed the relationships between individual goal orientation, team goal orientation, and individual creativity from cross-level perspective linked by motivated information processing theory. Applying multilevel research method and hierarchical-level modeling, we found that team learning goal orientation and individual learning goal orientation influence individual creativity through different information activities at their own levels. Moreover, team learning goal orientation has a positive and team performance-avoidance goal orientation has a negative effect on individual creativity through team information exchange, while individual learning goal orientation poses a positive effect on individual creativity through individual information elaboration. In conclusion, it was indicated that team members tend to elaborate more work-related information when teams are more learning-orientated. Conversely, team members do not tend to elaborate information when their team has higher performance-avoidance goal orientation.