How do employees respond when their creative ideas are rejected, and their expectations about ownership rights are challenged by organizational policies? This study introduces ownership misalignments—discrepancies between employees’ anticipated ownership rights and formal organizational policies—as a critical factor. We distinguish between unmet ownership expectations, where employees expecting ownership are denied it, and exceeded ownership expectations, where employees unexpectedly are granted ownership of their ideas. Drawing on organizational fairness theory, we propose that unmet expectations foster perceptions of unfair treatment, reducing creative engagement, while exceeded expectations signal consideration of employees’ creative efforts, enhancing future contributions. We further argue that these fairness perceptions are particularly significant for non-R&D employees, who have less familiarity with intellectual property (IP) policies and contribute creatively on a voluntary basis. Using a longitudinal dataset of employee invention disclosures from a multinational ICT firm operating across diverse IP regimes, we find empirical support for our hypotheses. The results demonstrate that ownership misalignments significantly shape subsequent creative idea submission after rejection, with stronger effects observed among non-R&D employees. By identifying ownership misalignments as a central mechanism linking rejection experiences to creative behavior, this study advances research on ownership, organizational fairness, and employee creative engagement.
