Psychological Safety and Creativity in Teams: A Mediated Moderation Model of Shared Leadership and Team Diversity

Abstract

The current study extends the literature on psychological safety and team creativity by exploring the questions of whether, how and when psychological safety influences team creativity positively. Specifically, the current study proposes that psychological safety has a positive impact on team creativity and this impact is mediated by shared leadership. Furthermore, the study introduces team diversity as a potential moderator in the relationships between psychological safety and team creativity through shared leadership. It is found that the direct effect of psychological safety on team creativity is more positive when team members perceive high diversity. Using a sample of 135 members working in teams in R&D departments in the electronics industry, the hypotheses were largely supported. Theoretical contributions, practical implications and future research directions are discussed.