Abstract

The effect of time pressure on employee creativity is controversial, and studies in examining the relationship between time pressure and employee creativity obtained conflicting results. This study updated the concept of organizational innovation climate into organizational innovation vitality, then examined the relationship of organizational innovation vitality and its outcomes (employees creativity and their job satisfaction), and explored the moderating effect of time pressure on the relationship between organizational innovation vitality and its outcomes. Data were collected from 470 R&D employees at four national research institutions in Taiwan in which employee creativity and creative outcomes are eagerly desired.
The structural equations modeling analysis indicated that organizational innovation vitality positively related to employee creativity and their job satisfaction, time pressure negatively related to employee job satisfaction, and time pressure moderated the relationship between organizational innovation vitality and its outcomes. Though time pressure constrains employee creativity in strong organizational innovation climates, it enhances employee creativity in weak organizational innovation climates. This finding explains why theorists argue that time pressure hinders organizational innovation, while practitioners always feel that exerting time pressure on employees can get a move on their innovation performance. Further implications are discussed with the time pressure/organizational innovation vitality matrix.