Examining the double-edged sword effect of stretch goals on employee radical creativity

While team stretch goals are intended to stimulate employee radical creativity, emerging research suggests their actual impact is paradoxical. Drawing on the dualistic model of passion, we reconcile competing perspectives by examining how and when stretch goals stimulate or harm employee radical creativity. Across two complementary studies employing diverse methods and data sources—one three-wave survey (N = 268 employees nested within 54 teams) and one preregistered vignette experiment (N = 398)—we found that when team mastery climate is high, team stretch goals are positively associated with employee harmonious work passion, which in turn facilitates radical creativity. When team performance climate is high, however, team stretch goals trigger employee obsessive work passion, which subsequently harms radical creativity. Taken together, our findings illuminate the motivational internalization processes through which team stretch goals influence employee radical creativity, as well as the critical role of team motivational climates in shaping these processes.