Linking intrinsic motivation, risk taking, and employee creativity in an R&D environment

Intrinsic motivation is thought to spur risk taking and creativity. Nonetheless, the relationship between common creativity antecedents and intrinsic motivation is seldom clarified and the assertion that intrinsic motivation spurs risk taking and creativity has rarely been addressed. The current study adopts an individual level of analysis and attempts to link several common creativity antecedents, intrinsic motivation, and one’s willingness to take risks to employee creativity. Using survey data collected from 165 research and development personnel and their supervisors, evidence is provided showing that intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between certain antecedents and one’s willingness to take risks and that this willingness mediates the effect of intrinsic motivation on employee creativity. However, starkly different findings emerge when using subjective versus objective indicators of employee creativity, suggesting that further theoretical development is in order to explain the differences.