Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China
While the positive effect of stretch goals in management practice has been well documented, few studies have confirmed that stretch goals improve employees’ creativity, without exploring the underlying mechanism. Thus, the present study aims to explore the mechanisms and boundary factors responsible for how stretch goals affect job creativity, drawing upon sociotechnical systems theory. In this study, data analyses based on a sample of 364 employees and managers reveal that information communication technology (ICT) use moderates the relationship between stretch goals and promotion-oriented job crafting such that it becomes stronger with high ICT use. It was further found that employees’ promotion-oriented task and cognition crafting mediates the interaction effect of stretch goals and ICT use on employees’ job creativity. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are fully discussed.
