Interpersonal harmony and creativity in China

This research examined the influence of interpersonal harmony on employee creativity in China. The dualistic model of harmony differentiates harmony enhancement, a genuine desire for a harmonious and mutually beneficial interpersonal relationship, from disintegration avoidance, a tendency to avoid the disruption of an interpersonal relationship to protect self-interest. A survey in China showed that the harmony enhancement motive had a positive relationship, and the disintegration avoidance motive had a negative relationship, with creativity mediated by creative effort. Reward for creativity showed different moderating effects on the two mediated relationships, such that it mitigated the positive relationship between harmony enhancement and creativity mediated by creative effort, and buffered the negative relationship between disintegration avoidance and creativity mediated by creative effort. We replicated some major findings with a multi-wave survey study and provided direct evidence for the underlying mechanisms that account for the opposite relationships between the two harmony motives and creative effort.