Under What Conditions Can Stressors and Strain Positively Influence Creativity? A Repeat-Measure Study of Psychological Resources

Abstract

Creativity is a critical attribute that firms seek to develop and cultivate. However, understanding the role of stressors (work-to-family and family-to-work) and strain (job-anxiety) on creative behaviors (CB) has proven elusive, principally due to the (a) limited focus on both stressors and strain and (b) limited focus on factors that may play a role in managing the influence of stressors and strain on creativity. Further, while evidence shows psychological factors influence CB, these are not typically explored in combination with stressors and strain providing a gap to test. Using psychological capital (PsyCap), which refers to an individual’s positive psychological state of development, we test whether PsyCap acts as a psychological reservoir to enable stressors and strain to enhance CB following conservation of resources theory. Using repeat-measure data from 219 U.S. employees, we test a latent change score model whereby PsyCap influences CB and interacts with stressors and strain. Ultimately, we find high CB when PsyCap is high irrespective of job-anxiety, although the highest change in CB is when job-anxiety is low. We discuss the implications regarding CB, especially including stressors and strain, and the importance of testing these effects with repeat-measure design.