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Breaking The Chains: The Inverted-U-Shaped Relationship Between Action-State Orientation And Creativity Under Low Job Autonomy, Ronald Bledow, Jana Kühnel, Mengzi Jin, Julius Kuhl

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

When the social fabric of organizations limits individual autonomy, new ideas are needed that satisfy a person’s will as well as the constraints imposed by the social context. To explain when people achieve this synthesis and display creativity under low job autonomy, we examine the influence of their action-state orientation. The theory of action versus state orientation contrasts two responses people display when faced by a situation that conflicts with their will. An actionoriented response entails that people readily disengage from processing the situation and initiate goal-striving, while a state-oriented response entails that people remain focused on the situation. We …