IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v12y2025i1d10.1057_s41599-025-05005-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Challenge-hindrance stressors and innovative performance among dental graduate students in China: a moderated mediation model

Author

Listed:
  • Mao Zhao

    (Chengdu Normal University)

  • Yating Yu

    (University of Macau)

  • Mei Zhong

    (Guangzhou Medical University)

  • Bingpeng Lin

    (Guangzhou Medical University)

Abstract

Improving the academic innovative performance of dental graduate students is vital for the development of dentistry. Given that dental graduate students face intense academic competition, the mechanisms of challenge and hindrance stress on innovative performance have not been thoroughly explored in this context. The aim of the study is to determine the influence mechanisms between challenge-hindrance stressors and innovative performance among Chinese dental graduate students. The results of an innovation performance survey conducted with 822 dental graduate students from 13 public medical colleges show that there exists a significant association between challenge stressors and innovative performance, and a negative correlation is shown between hindrance stressors and innovative performance. Both types of stressors have indirect relationships with emotional exhaustion and learning engagement. Additionally, physical exercise moderates the indirect impacts of two stressors on innovative performance by emotional exhaustion and learning engagement. Overall, the findings suggest that increasing the frequency of physical exercise is an effective way to reduce stress and enhance innovation capacity. These results are useful in terms of raising students’ level of competition in the medical field.

Suggested Citation

  • Mao Zhao & Yating Yu & Mei Zhong & Bingpeng Lin, 2025. "Challenge-hindrance stressors and innovative performance among dental graduate students in China: a moderated mediation model," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-05005-5
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-05005-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-05005-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-025-05005-5?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 search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    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:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-05005-5. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    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.