The Effect of Curiosity on Work Performance in Employees: The Mediating Role of Individual Creativity

Öz

The purpose of this study is to test the effect of job-related curiosity on job performance and to determine the mediating role of individual creativity in this effect. Within the scope of the study, data were collected from 302 people working in a private organization operating in the forest products sector. Regression analysis and mediation analysis using PROCESS macro were applied to test the relationships between the obtained data and variables. The analysis of the data showed that curiosity has a positive and significant effect on creativity and curiosity and creativity have a positive and significant effect on job performance. In addition, in line with the main purpose of the study, it was concluded that creativity has a partial mediating role in the effect of curiosity on job performance. As a result, this study proved that creativity is one of the potential mediators that may have a role in the effect of curiosity on performance. It is possible to say that in organisations that encourage curiosity and creativity, employees will perform better and this will enable businesses to be more sustainable and competitive.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Curiosity
• Job Performance
• Individual Creativity
• Mediation

Çalışanlarda Merakın İş Performansına Etkisi: Bireysel Yaratıcılığın Aracı Rolü

Öz

Bu çalışmanın amacı iş ile ilgili merakın iş performansı üzerindeki etkisini test etmek ve bu etkide bireysel yaratıcılığın aracı rolünü belirlemektir. Çalışma kapsamında orman ürünleri sektöründe faaliyet gösteren özel bir işletmede çalışan 302 kişiden anket yoluyla veri toplanmıştır. Elde edilen veriler ile değişkenler arasındaki ilişkileri test etmek için regresyon analizi ve PROCESS makrosu kullanılarak aracılık analizi uygulanmıştır. Verilerin analiz edilmesi ile çalışanlarda merakın yaratıcılığı, merak ve yaratıcılığın ise iş performansını pozitif ve anlamlı bir şekilde etkilediği görülmüştür. Ayrıca çalışmanın temel amacı doğrultusunda yaratıcılığın, merakın iş performansı üzerindeki etkisinde kısmi aracı rolü olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Sonuç olarak bu çalışmada çalışanlarda merakın performansa olan etkisi üzerindeki rolü olabilecek potansiyel aracılardan birisinin, yaratıcılık olduğu kanıtlanmıştır. Merak ve yaratıcılığı teşvik eden organizasyonlarda çalışanların daha iyi performans sergileyeceğini ve bunun da işletmelerin daha sürdürülebilir ve rekabetçi olmalarını sağlayacağını söylemek mümkündür.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Merak
• İş Performansı
• Bireysel Yaratıcılık
• Aracılık

Kaynakça

1. Alpar, R. (2014). Uygulamalı istatistik ve geçerlilik-güvenilirlik. Detay Yayıncılık.
2. Amabile, T. M. (1988). A model of creativity and innovation in organizations. In B. M. Staw, & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior (pp. 123-167). CT: JAI Press.
3. Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity in context. Westview Press, Boulder, CO.
4. Amabile, T. M. & Kramer, S. J. (2007). Inner work life: Understanding the subtext of business performance. Harvard Business Review, 85(5), 72-83.
5. Amabile, T. M. & Pratt, M. G. (2016). The dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations: Making progress, making meaning. Research in Organizational Behavior, 36, 157–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2016.10.001
6. Anderson, N., Potočnik, K. & Zhou, J. (2014). Innovation and creativity in organizations: A state-of-the-science review, prospective commentary and guiding framework. Journal of Management, 40(5), 1297–1333. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314527128
7. Baron, R. M. & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173
8. Berlyne, D. E. (1966). Curiosity and exploration. Science, 153(3731), 25–33. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.153.3731.25

9. Berlyne, D. E. (1978). Curiosity and learning. Motivation and Emotion, 2, 97–175. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00993037
10. Brown, C. G. (2016). Can “secular” mindfulness be separated from religion?. Springer, Cham.
11. Campbell, J. P. & Wiernik, B. M. (2015). The modeling and assessment of work performance. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 2(1), 47-74. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032414-111427
12. Celik, P., Storme, M., Davila, A. & Myszkowski, N. (2016). Work-related curiosity positively predicts worker innovation. Journal of Management Development, 35, 1184–1194. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-01-2016-0013
13. Chang, Y. Y. & Shih, H. Y. (2019). Work curiosity: A new lens for understanding employee creativity. Human Resource Management Review, 29(4), 2-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2018.10.005
14. Chang, Y. Y., Shih, H.Y. & Lin, B. W. (2023). Work curiosity and R&D professionals’ creative performance: Scientists vs. engineers. Technovation, 124, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2023.102739
15. Chummar, S., Singh, P. & Ezzedeen, S. R. (2019). Exploring the differential impact of work passion on life satisfaction and job performance via the work–family interface. Personnel Review, 48(5), 1100-1119. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-02-2017-0033
16. Çalışkan, A. & Köroğlu, E. Ö. (2022). Job performance, task performance, contextual performance: development and validation of a new scale. Uluslararası İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi, 8(2), 180-201. https://doi.org/10.29131/uiibd.1201880
17. Díaz-Vilela, L. F., Delgado Rodríguez, N., Isla-Díaz, R., Díaz-Cabrera, D., Hernández-Fernaud, E. & Rosales-Sánchez, C. (2015). Relationships between contextual and task performance and interrater agreement: Are there any? PLoS ONE, 10(10), e0139898. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139898
18. Eschleman, K. J., Madsen, J., Alarcon, G. & Barelka, A. (2014). Benefiting from the creative activity: The positive relationships between creative activity, recovery experiences and performance related outcomes. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87(3), 579-598. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12064
19. Gilson, L. L. (2008). Why be creative: A review of the practical outcomes associated with creativity at the individual, group, and organizational levels. In J. Zhou & C. E. Shalley (Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Creativity (pp. 303–322). Erlbaum.
20. Hagtvedt, L. P., Dossinger, K., Harrison, S. H. & Huang, L. (2019). Curiosity made the cat more creative: Specific curiosity as a driver of creativity. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 150, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.10.007
21. Hardy, J. H., Ness, A. M. & Mecca, J. (2017). Outside the box: Epistemic curiosity as a predictor of creative problem solving and creative performance. Personality and Individual Differences, 104, 230–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.08.004
22. Harrison, S. H., Sluss, D. M. & Ashforth, B. E. (2011). Curiosity adapted the cat: The role of trait curiosity in newcomer adaptation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 211–220. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021647
23. Harrison, S. H. & Dossinger, K. (2017). Pliable guidance: A multilevel model of curiosity, feedback seeking, and feedback giving in creative work. Academy of Management Journal, 60(6), 2051–2072. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2015.0247
24. Hur, W.-M., Moon, T.-W. & Lee, J.-H. (2021). The effect of self-efficacy on job performance through creativity: The moderating roles of customer incivility and service scripts. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 33(3), 888-905.
25. Ismail, H. N., Iqbal, A. & Nasr, L. (2018). Employee engagement and job performance in lebanon: The mediating role of creativity. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 68(3), 506-523. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-02-2018-0052
26. Janssen, O. & Giebels, E. (2013). When and why creativity-related conflict with coworkers can hamper creative employees’ individual job performance. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 22(5), 574-587.
27. Jnaneswar, K. & Ranjit, G. (2022). Explicating intrinsic motivation’s impact on job performance: Employee creativity as a mediator. Journal of Strategy and Management, 15(4), 647-664. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-04-2021-0091
28. Junça-Silva, A. & Silva, D. (2021). Curiosity did not kill the cat: It made it stronger and happy, but only if the cat was not dark. Acta Psychologica, 221, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103444 Karasar, N. (2012). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemi. Nobel Yayın Dağıtım.
29. Kashdan, T. B. & Silvia, P. J. (2009). Curiosity and interest: The benefits of thriving on novelty and challenge. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology (pp. 367–374). Oxford University Press.
30. Kashdan, T. B., Goodman, F. R., Disabato, D. J., McKnight, P. E., Kelso, K. & Naughton, C. (2020). Curiosity has comprehensive benefits in the workplace: Developing and validating a multidimensional workplace curiosity scale in united states and german employees. Personality and Individual Differences, 155, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.109717
31. Kremer, H., Villamor, L. & Aguinis, H. (2019). Innovation leadership: Best-practice recommendations for promoting employee creativity, voice, and knowledge sharing. Business Horizons, 62(1), 65–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2018.08.010
32. Litman, J. A. & Spielberger, C. D. (2003). Measuring epistemic curiosity and its diversive and specific components. Journal of Personality Assessment, 80(1), 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327752JPA8001_16
33. Litman, J. A. (2008). Interest and deprivation factors of epistemic curiosity. Personality and Individual Differences, 44(7), 1585–1595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.01.014
34. Litman, J. A. (2010). Relationships between measures of I-and D-type curiosity, ambiguity tolerance, and need for closure: An initial test of the wanting-liking model of information-seeking. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(4), 397–402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.11.005
35. Liu, D., Jiang, K., Shalley, C. E., Keem, S. & Zhou, J. (2016). Motivational mechanisms of employee creativity: A meta-analytic examination and theoretical extension of the creativity literature. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 137, 236–263.
36. Loewenstein, G. (1994). The psychology of curiosity: A review and reinterpretation. Psychological Bulletin, 116(1), 75–98. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.116.1.75
37. Luthans, F., Avolio, B., Avey, J. B. & Norman, S. M. (2007). Positive psychological capital: Measurement and relationship with performance and satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 60(3), 541-572.
38. Ma, J. & Wei, W. (2023). Curiosity causes creativity? Revealing the reinforcement circle between state curiosity and creativity. Journal of Creativity Behavior, 57(4), 488-494. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.606
39. McCloy, R. A., Campbell, J. P. & Cudek, R. (1994). A confirmatory test of a model of performance determinants. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(4), 493–504.
40. Meydan, C. & Şeşen, H. (2015). Yapısal eşitlik modellemesi amos uygulamaları. Detay Yayıncılık.
41. Millan, M. J. (2014). The epigenetic dimension of Alzheimer's disease: Causal, consequence, or curiosity?. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 16(3), 373-393. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2014.16.3/mmillan
42. Motowidlo, S. J. & Van Scotter, J. R. (1994). Evidence that task performance should be distinguished from contextual performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(4), 475–480.
43. Mussel, P. (2013). Introducing the construct curiosity for predicting job performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(4), 453–472. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1809
44. Mussel, P. & Spengler, M. (2015). Investigating intellect from a trait activation perspective: Identification of situational moderators for the correlation with work-related criteria. Journal of Research in Personality, 55, 51–60.
45. Neubert, J. C., Mainert, J., Kretzschmar, A. & Greiff, S. (2015). The assessment of 21st century skills in industrial and organizational psychology: Complex and collaborative problem solving. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 8(2), 238–268. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2015.14
46. Nunnally, J. C. & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). The assessment of reliability. Psychometric Theory, 3, 248-292.
47. Pattnaik, S. C. & Sahoo, R. (2021). Employee engagement, creativity and task performance: Role of perceived workplace autonomy. South Asian Journal of Business Studies, 10(2), 227-241.
48. Peljko, Ž., Jeraj, M., Săvoiu, G. & Marič, M. (2016). An empirical study of the relationship between entrepreneurial curiosity and innovativeness. The Organ, 49, 172–182. https://doi.org/10.1515/orga-2016-0016
49. Reio, T. G. & Wiswell, A. (2000). Field investigation of the relationship among adult curiosity, workplace learning, and job performance. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 11(1), 5-30. https://doi.org/10.1002/1532-1096(200021)11:1<5::AID-HRDQ2>3.0.CO;2-A
50. Reio, T. G. & Callahan, J. L. (2004). Affect, curiosity, and socialization-related learning: A path analysis of antecedents to job performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 19, 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOBU.0000040269.72795.ce
51. Ribeiro, N., Duarte, A. P. & Filipe, R. (2018). How authentic leadership promotes individual performance: Mediating role of organizational citizenship behavior and creativity. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 67(9), 1585-1607. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-11-2017-0318
52. Schutte, N. S. & Malouff, J. M. (2019). A meta-analysis of the relationship between curiosity and creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 54(4), 940-947. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.421
53. Shafi, M., Zoya Lei, Z., Song, X. & Sarker, M. N. I. (2020). The effects of transformational leadership on employee creativity: Moderating role of intrinsic motivation. Asia Pacific Management Review, 25(3), 166-176.
54. Silva, R. O. & Silva, G. D. (2022). Curiosity unlocked the cat: The relationship between curiosity at work and worker creativity. Brazilian Administration Review, 19(4), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22092859.v1
55. Simonton, D. K. (2000). Creativity: Cognitive, personal, developmental, and social aspects. American Psychologist, 55, 151–158.
56. Suh, T. & Shin, H. (2005). Creativity, job performance and their correlates: A comparison between non-profit and profit-driven organisations. International Journal of Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 10(4), 203-211.
57. Taboli, H. & Zaerizadeh, M. (2016). Examine the effect of individual creativity on job performance with the mediating role of ethical leadership of headquarters staff of hormozgan university of medical sciences. International Business Management, 10(8), 1427-1433.
58. Van Kleef, G. A., Homan, A. C., Beersma, B., Van Knippenberg, D., Van Knippenberg, B. & Damen, F. (2009). Searing sentiment or cold calculation? The effects of leader emotional displays on team performance depend on follower epistemic motivation. Academy of Management Journal, 52(3), 562–580.
59. Wang, C.-H. & Chen, H.-T. (2020). Relationships among workplace incivility, work engagement and job performance. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 3(4), 415-429. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-09-2019-0105
60. Weick, K. E. (1993). The collapse of sensemaking in organizations: The Mann Gulch disaster. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38(4), 628–652.
61. Yıldız, N. O., Kaçay, Z. & Soyer, F. (2022). Adaptation of individual creativity scale to Turkish culture, validity and reliability study. Sakarya University Journal of Education, 12(3), 712-729. https://doi.org/10.19126/suje.1064436
62. Yurdasever, E. (2024). İşyeri merak ölçeğinin Türkçeye uyarlanması ve işe bağlılık ile yenilikçi iş davranışı üzerindeki etkisinin sınanması. Erciyes Akademi, 38(1), 41-71. https://doi.org/10.48070/erciyesakademi.1379077
63. Zada, M., Khan, J., Saeed, I., Zada, S. & Jun, Z. Y. (2023). Curiosity may have killed the cat but it has the power to improve employee creativity. Current Psychology, 42, 32299–32313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04171-y
64. Zhou, J. & George, J. M. (2001). When job dissatisfaction leads to creativity: Encouraging the expression of voice. Academy of Management Journal, 44(4), 682–696. https://doi.org/10.2307/3069410
65. Zhou, J. & Shalley, C. E. (2003). Research on employee creativity: A critical review and directions for future research. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 22, 165–217.
66. Zuss, M. (2011). The practice of theoretical curiosity. Springer Science & Business Media.