Creative contribution of individuals in groups: Effects of goal orientation and participative safety

We proposed a construct of creative contribution, which expands the existing focus on creative performance as an isolated individual effort for generating creative ideas. Creative contribution comprises 3 components: the generation of creative ideas by an individual in a group, helping the creative performance of other group members, and stimulating the creative energy of other group members. A multilevel analysis of data from 37 teams consisting of 147 individuals showed that creative contribution was increased by learning goal orientation and decreased by performance goal orientation. A significant 3-way interaction indicated that participative safety attenuated the negative effect of performance goal orientation on creative contribution, particularly when learning goal orientation was low. The significance of multilevel dynamics between individual dispositions and social context in shaping the creative contribution of group members is highlighted in this study.