Overwhelmed by expectations? Exploring the curvilinear effects of leaders’ creativity expectations?

Abstract

While mainstream research suggests that leaders’ creativity expectations can motivate employees’ creativity, some studies indicate that overly high expectations may induce substantial stress, with counterproductive effects. This observation suggests that the association between leaders’ expectations and employees’ creativity may not be simply positive and linear. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, this study explores the nuanced relationship between leaders’ creativity expectations and employees’ creativity; we propose that this relationship exhibits an inverted U-shaped pattern and is mediated by employees’ emotional exhaustion. We argue that moderate expectations can energize employees and alleviate emotional exhaustion, fostering creativity. However, when expectations surpass a certain threshold, they create excessive stress, which increases employees’ emotional exhaustion and stifles creativity. We further posit that leaders’ objectification amplifies the curvature of this inverted U-shaped relationship. Utilizing data from a multi-wave, multi-source field study and a scenario-based experiment, we validate our model and offer valuable insights into the dynamic interplay between expectations and creativity. These results offer both theoretical contributions and practical implications for managing creativity in the workplace.