Why being labeled “creative” triggers employees’ unethical pro-organizational behavior: The role of felt obligation for constructive change and Machiavellianism

IF 10.5 1区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS

Journal of Business Research Pub Date : 2025-02-01 DOI:10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115185

Long Zhang , Chuang Zhang , Ya Xi Shen , Haiping Liu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Employee creativity is often explored through the lens of personal traits, performance, or self-perception, with a limited focus on external evaluation, i.e., creativity in the eyes of others. Drawing on social information processing and self-affirmation theories, our study asserts that when employees are recognized as creative by others, they feel an obligation to initiate constructive changes within their organization (felt obligation for constructive change, FOCC). This recognition encourages pro-organizational unethical behavior, particularly in employees with Machiavellian traits. Our model is validated across three studies: an experiment with 188 employees (Study 1), a three-wave survey involving 206 coworker–employee dyads (Study 2), and a two-wave survey with 205 team leader–employee dyads (Study 3). This research contributes to the creativity literature by addressing employee creativity from an external evaluation perspective, challenging the assumption that negative creativity outcomes stem solely from bad intentions, and underscoring personal traits in shaping employee creativity utilization.

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来源期刊

Journal of Business Research BUSINESS-

CiteScore

20.30

自引率

10.60%

发文量

956

期刊介绍： The Journal of Business Research aims to publish research that is rigorous, relevant, and potentially impactful. It examines a wide variety of business decision contexts, processes, and activities, developing insights that are meaningful for theory, practice, and/or society at large. The research is intended to generate meaningful debates in academia and practice, that are thought provoking and have the potential to make a difference to conceptual thinking and/or practice. The Journal is published for a broad range of stakeholders, including scholars, researchers, executives, and policy makers. It aids the application of its research to practical situations and theoretical findings to the reality of the business world as well as to society. The Journal is abstracted and indexed in several databases, including Social Sciences Citation Index, ANBAR, Current Contents, Management Contents, Management Literature in Brief, PsycINFO, Information Service, RePEc, Academic Journal Guide, ABI/Inform, INSPEC, etc.