This article draws on status characteristics theory to explore the mechanisms of individual-level boundary-spanning behavior on employee creative performance, as well as the mediating role of informal status and the moderating role of Zhongyong thinking. The results of a two-wave questionnaire survey of 202 employees show that boundary-spanning behavior has a significant positive relationship with employees’ creative performance, informal status mediates the link between boundary-spanning behavior and creative performance of this employee, Zhongyong thinking plays a moderating role between employees’ boundary-spanning behavior and their informal status, and Zhongyong thinking also moderates the mediating role of informal status between boundary-spanning behavior and employee creative performance. In this paper, a moderated mediation model is established to enhance the understanding of the effects and mechanisms of individual boundary-spanning behavior, as well as to provide some constructive insight into how boundary-spanning behavior can be effectively employed in management practice within the Chinese context.

Organizations largely depend on their employees’ creativity to attain a competitive advantage. Drawing on Ability-Motivation-Opportunity (AMO) theory, this study examines whether employees’ voice behavior (promotive and prohibitive) can be harnessed to improve their creative performance. By exploring the mediating role of psychosocial prosperity and moderating effects of employees’ perception of their influence at work and their feelings of alienation, this study offers a unique model that enhances the literature on voice and creativity. Data collected from 285 Information Technology professionals in India reveals that both forms of voice lead to creative performance, and psychosocial prosperity mediates this positive relationship. This finding offers different insight for scholars as much of the voice literature expects prohibitive voice to yield negative results for the employee because of its associated risks. Also, employees’ perceived influence at work strengthens the positive effect of promotive voice on psychosocial prosperity, while alienation weakens the relationship between psychosocial prosperity and creativity performance. The study concludes by discussing the implications, limitations, and directions for future researchers.

In this study, we show how high-performance work systems (HPWS) in an organization can significantly affect employees' creative performance and burnout. To do this, we propose and test a dual-process framework that is based on HR attribution theory, ability−motivation−opportunity theory, micro- and macro-theoretical perspectives, and the job demands−resources (JD-R) model. Using data from a multisource field study with a sample of 311 participants, we found that HPWS benefited employee creative performance and did not lead to employee burnout. However, HPWS affected both job demands and job resources when employees adopted self-protection and self-enhancement strategies. Also, we found that HPWS had unique indirect effects on employee creative performance via job resources whereas job demands fully mediated the relationship between HPWS and employee burnout. The findings shed light on key aspects of HR attribution theory. We discuss accompanying theoretical and practical implications.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the circumstances under which empowering leadership fosters creative performance. Arguments were developed for a three-way interaction of empowering leadership, problem-solving demands and creative personality in this linkage. These arguments resulted in competing hypotheses from a fit and a compensation perspective. The results from a survey of 213 employees of a Flemish large industrial organization were used. We found that less creative employees in jobs with high problem-solving demands particularly benefit from empowering leadership. This paper adds to a more complex understanding of the effectiveness of empowering leadership by highlighting the relevance of the simultaneous interplay of contextual and personal factors.