IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v195y2025ics0148296325002188.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

One requirement, multiple insights: The impact of innovation job requirement on employee radical and incremental creativity

Author

Listed:
  • Qi, Xin
  • Liu, Xiyao
  • Zhang, Xiaoyan
  • Xia, Yuhuan
  • Liu, Shasha
  • Lin, Hui
  • Wang, Ziyao

Abstract

Organizations are increasingly incorporating innovation into job requirements to encourage employees to generate and implement novel ideas (i.e., enhance employees’ creativity). Despite extensive research on the impact of innovation job requirements on creativity, the findings remain inconsistent, being either positive or negative. To address this issue, drawing on the regulatory focus theory, we focused on employees’ different types of creativity and explored how innovation job requirements impact employees’ radical versus incremental creativity. Through a questionnaire survey of 485 employees and 124 direct supervisors from two high-tech firms and one manufacturing firm in China, the empirical results indicated that innovation job requirements promoted expected image gains for promotion-focused employees, whereas for prevention-focused employees, innovation job requirements fostered incremental creativity by heightening expected image risks. These findings contribute valuable insights to research on innovation job requirements and creativity and provide practical guidance for organizations to foster employees’ different types of creativity.

Suggested Citation

  • Qi, Xin & Liu, Xiyao & Zhang, Xiaoyan & Xia, Yuhuan & Liu, Shasha & Lin, Hui & Wang, Ziyao, 2025. "One requirement, multiple insights: The impact of innovation job requirement on employee radical and incremental creativity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:195:y:2025:i:c:s0148296325002188
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115395
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296325002188
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115395?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tumasjan, Andranik & Braun, Reiner, 2012. "In the eye of the beholder: How regulatory focus and self-efficacy interact in influencing opportunity recognition," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 622-636.
    2. Yei-Yi Chen & WenChang Fang, 2008. "The Moderating Effect of Impression Management on the Organizational Politics–Performance Relationship," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 79(3), pages 263-277, May.
    3. Montani, Francesco & Torres, Claudio & Ferreira, Maria Cristina & Mendonça, Helenides & Silva, Ana Junça & Courcy, François & Dagenais-Desmarais, Véronique, 2021. "Self-image goals, compassionate goals and innovative work behavior: The role of organizational support for innovation across countries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 588-600.
    4. Ozen, Ozlem & Ozturk-Kose, Ebru, 2023. "Management innovation: The role of internal, external factors, and business group affiliation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    5. Park, Tae-Youn & Kim, Seongsu & Sung, Li-Kuo, 2017. "Fair pay dispersion: A regulatory focus theory view," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 1-11.
    6. Guidice, Rebecca M. & Mero, Neal P. & Matthews, Lucy M. & Greene, Juanne V., 2016. "The influence of individual regulatory focus and accountability form in a high performance work system," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 3332-3340.
    7. Wu, Cindy & McMullen, Jeffery S. & Neubert, Mitchell J. & Yi, Xiang, 2008. "The influence of leader regulatory focus on employee creativity," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 587-602, September.
    8. Brockner, Joel & Higgins, E. Tory, 2001. "Regulatory Focus Theory: Implications for the Study of Emotions at Work," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 35-66, September.
    9. Hao Kong & Warren CK Chiu & Humphrey KW Leung, 2019. "Building creative self-efficacy via learning goal orientation, creativity job requirement, and team learning behavior: The key to employee creativity," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 44(3), pages 443-461, August.
    10. Crowe, Ellen & Higgins, E. Tory, 1997. "Regulatory Focus and Strategic Inclinations: Promotion and Prevention in Decision-Making," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 117-132, February.
    11. Luqman, Adeel & Talwar, Shalini & Masood, Ayesha & Dhir, Amandeep, 2021. "Does enterprise social media use promote employee creativity and well-being?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 40-54.
    12. Cheng, Yin-Hui & Yen, HsiuJu Rebecca & Chuang, Shih-Chieh & Chang, Chia-Jung, 2013. "Product option framing under the influence of a promotion versus prevention focus," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 402-413.
    13. Sheng, Margaret L. & Chien, Iting, 2016. "Rethinking organizational learning orientation on radical and incremental innovation in high-tech firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 2302-2308.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kammerlander, Nadine & Burger, Dominik & Fust, Alexander & Fueglistaller, Urs, 2015. "Exploration and exploitation in established small and medium-sized enterprises: The effect of CEOs' regulatory focus," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 582-602.
    2. Ma, Jie (Yonas), 2023. "Curious supervisor puts team innovation within reach: Investigating supervisor trait curiosity as a catalyst for collective actions," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    3. Oana Buliga & Christian W. Scheiner & Kai-Ingo Voigt, 2016. "Business model innovation and organizational resilience: towards an integrated conceptual framework," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 86(6), pages 647-670, August.
    4. Stern Neill & Raghuvar Dutt Pathak & Barbara A. Ribbens & Terry W. Noel & Gurmeet Singh, 2020. "The influence of managerial optimism and self-regulation on learning and business growth expectations within an emerging economic context," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 187-204, March.
    5. Wang, Xingyuan & Liu, Yun & Wang, Shuyang & Chen, Haipeng (Allan), 2022. "Keep it vague? New product preannouncement, regulatory focus, and word-of-mouth," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    6. Jeffery S. McMullen & Dean A. Shepherd & Holger Patzelt, 2009. "Managerial (In)attention to Competitive Threats," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 157-181, March.
    7. Zou, Lili Wenli & Chan, Ricky Y.K., 2019. "Why and when do consumers perform green behaviors? An examination of regulatory focus and ethical ideology," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 113-127.
    8. Ricky Y. K. Chan, 2021. "Do chief information officers matter for sustainable development? Impact of their regulatory focus on green information technology strategies and corporate performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2523-2534, July.
    9. Tine Bock & Patrick Kenhove, 2010. "Consumer Ethics: The Role of Self-Regulatory Focus," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(2), pages 241-255, December.
    10. Johnson, Russell E. & King, Danielle D. & (Joanna) Lin, Szu-Han & Scott, Brent A. & Jackson Walker, Erin M. & Wang, Mo, 2017. "Regulatory focus trickle-down: How leader regulatory focus and behavior shape follower regulatory focus," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 29-45.
    11. Gino, Francesca & Margolis, Joshua D., 2011. "Bringing ethics into focus: How regulatory focus and risk preferences influence (Un)ethical behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 145-156, July.
    12. Daniel L Gamache & François Neville & Jonathan Bundy & Cole E Short, 2020. "Serving differently: CEO regulatory focus and firm stakeholder strategy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(7), pages 1305-1335, July.
    13. Zhou, Shuai & Yi, Ni & Rasiah, Rajah & Zhao, Haipeng & Mo, Zile, 2024. "An empirical study on the dark side of service employees’ AI awareness: Behavioral responses, emotional mechanisms, and mitigating factors," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    14. Xiangzhi Bu & Hoang Viet Nguyen & Quang Huy Nguyen & Chia-Pin Chen & Tsung Piao Chou, 2020. "Traditional or Fast Foods, Which One Do You Choose? The Roles of Traditional Value, Modern Value, and Promotion Focus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-19, September.
    15. Burmeister-Lamp, Katrin & Lévesque, Moren & Schade, Christian, 2012. "Are entrepreneurs influenced by risk attitude, regulatory focus or both? An experiment on entrepreneurs' time allocation," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 456-476.
    16. Kashmiri, Saim & Gala, Prachi & Nicol, Cameron Duncan, 2019. "Seeking pleasure or avoiding pain: Influence of CEO regulatory focus on firms' advertising, R&D, and marketing controversies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 227-242.
    17. Les Tien-Shang Lee, 2013. "The Antecedents and Mediators of New Product Development Success," Diversity, Technology, and Innovation for Operational Competitiveness: Proceedings of the 2013 International Conference on Technology Innovation and Industrial Management,, ToKnowPress.
    18. Heinz, Philip & Patel, Chris & Hellmann, Andreas, 2013. "Some theoretical and methodological suggestions for studies examining accountants' professional judgments and earnings management," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 299-311.
    19. Gada, Viswa Prasad & Goyal, Lakshmi & Popli, Manish, 2021. "Earnouts in M&A deal structuring: The impact of CEO prevention focus," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).
    20. Yanbin Liu & Wei Wang & Hongxu Lu & Ping Yuan, 2022. "The divergent effects of employees’ sense of power on constructive and defensive voice behavior: A cross-level moderated mediation model," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 1341-1366, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:195:y:2025:i:c:s0148296325002188. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.