Exploring the Relationship between Workplace Ostracism and Innovative Work Behavior: Mediating Role of Creative Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explicate the crucial phenomenon of ostracism by examining its impact on employees' innovative behavior. Moreover, Due to the prevailing turbulent business environment, innovative behavior is considered one of the most potent components of sustainable competitive advantage. This study has been designed to demonstrate the role of cognitive control strategies in pain reduction caused by workplace ostracism. Specifically, this study focuses on the intervening role of creative self-efficacy (CSE) to explicate the relationship between workplace ostracism and innovative work behavior (IWB).

Design/Methodology/Approach: Data were collected via questionnaires from 430 employees working in the public sector of Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed with Amos 23.0 and the hypothesized relationships were tested using the PROCESS macro for SPSS.

Findings: It was found that ostracism and IWB of employees were negatively related to each other. Thus, ostracized individuals are less likely to exhibit IWB at workplace. Furthermore, the findings of the study supported our hypotheses and confirmed the intervening role of creative self-efficacy.

Practical Implications: Considering the cruciality of ostracism, this study provides valuable implications for researchers and organizational managers. This study urges organizational managers to focus on building cognitive and affective abilities in their employees because they can provide a better source of coping from ostracism.

Originality/Value: The uniqueness of this study is that; in the past, no one has explored the workplace ostracism-IWB relationship via CSE. Moreover, this study helps to enhance the body of literature in the field of workplace ostracism by establishing CSE as a mediating mechanism between ostracism and IWB