Formal mentoring support and protege creativity: A self-regulatory perspective

作者：Chen, Cheng; Wen, Peng^*; Chen, Zhixia; Liao, Shudi; Shu, Xiaobing

来源：Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 2021, 24(4): 463-476.

DOI：10.1111/ajsp.12440

• chronic promotion focus
• creativity
• feedback seeking from mentors
• formal mentoring support
• self&#8208
• regulation theory

Recent studies have shown that formal mentoring support plays a vital role in proteges' creativity. The psychological mechanisms linking formal mentoring support to proteges' creativity and its boundary conditions, however, are less clear. To fill this gap, this study aims to examine how and when formal mentors exert their impact on proteges' creativity, drawing upon a self-regulatory perspective. By using 231 ongoing mentor-protege dyads in China, our results indicate that proteges' feedback seeking from mentors mediates the relationship between formal mentoring support and proteges' creativity. Furthermore, we found that the chronic promotion focus of proteges plays a significant moderating role in the relationships between formal mentoring support and proteges' feedback seeking from mentors, and between feedback seeking from mentors and proteges' creativity, as well as the association between formal mentoring support and protege creativity via feedback seeking from mentors. Those relationships tend to be stronger when proteges have high levels of chronic promotion focus. Some implications for theory and organizational practices are discussed, as well as suggestions for further areas of research.

• 单位
  华中科技大学