Hostname: page-component-5b777bbd6c-kmmxp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-06-20T16:36:50.780Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Workplace ostracism and team members’ creativity: The mediating role of self-reflection and moderating role of high-involvement work practices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2022

Zhining Wang*
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Management, China University of Mining and Technology, University Road, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China
Chunjie Guan
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Management, China University of Mining and Technology, University Road, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China
Shuang Ren
Affiliation:
Deakin Business School, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
Shaohan Cai
Affiliation:
Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
*
*Corresponding author: E-mail: wzncumt@126.com

Abstract

Drawing on social cognitive theory, this paper examines whether self-reflection mediates the association between workplace ostracism and team members’ creativity, and whether this mediating effect is moderated by high-involvement work practices (HIWPs). We construct and test a cross-level model using multilevel path analysis to analyse data collected from 81 teams (a total of 393 members) in China. The results show that workplace ostracism negatively influences team members’ reflection but positively influences rumination, which in turn affects individual creativity. Furthermore, HIWPs negatively moderate the effects of workplace ostracism on self-reflection, and moderate the linkages among workplace ostracism, reflection/rumination and team members’ creativity. Finally, theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2022.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Amabile, T. M., & Pratt, M. G. (2016). The dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations: Making progress, making meaning. Research in Organizational Behavior, 36, 157183.10.1016/j.riob.2016.10.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, N., Potocnik, K., & Zhou, J. (2014). Innovation and creativity in organizations: A state-of-the-science review, prospective commentary, and guiding framework. Journal of Management, 40(5), 12971333.10.1177/0149206314527128CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arditte, K. A., & Joormann, J. (2011). Emotion regulation in depression: Reflection predicts recovery from a major depressive episode. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 35(6), 536543.10.1007/s10608-011-9389-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Babalola, M. T., Kwan, H. K., Ren, S., Agyemang-Mintah, P., Chen, H., & Li, J. (2021). Being ignored by loved ones: Understanding when and why family ostracism inhibits creativity at work. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 42(3), 349364.10.1002/job.2499CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. (1965). Influence of models’reinforcement contingencies on the acquisition of imitative response. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1(6), 589595.10.1037/h0022070CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Scotts Valley, California, ReCAPP, 2000, 1(1), 33–52.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 248287.10.1016/0749-5978(91)90022-LCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 126.10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.1CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bedi, A. (2021). No herd for black sheep: A meta-analytic review of the predictors and outcomes of workplace ostracism. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 70(2), 861904.10.1111/apps.12238CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bennett, R. J., & Robinson, S. L. (2000). Development of a measure of workplace deviance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 349360.10.1037/0021-9010.85.3.349CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Binnewies, C., Sonnentag, S., & Mojza, E. J. (2009). Feeling recovered and thinking about the good sides of one’s work. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(3), 243256.10.1037/a0014933CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bugg, E. G., & Dewey, J. (1934). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. American Journal of Psychology, 46(3), 528.10.2307/1415632CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camuffo, A., De Stefano, F., & Paolino, C. (2017). Safety reloaded: Lean operations and high involvement work practices for sustainable workplaces. Journal of Business Ethics, 143, 245259.10.1007/s10551-015-2590-8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Casper, A., Tremmel, S., & Sonnentag, S. (2019). Patterns of positive and negative work reflection during leisure time: A latent profile analysis. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 24, 527542.10.1037/ocp0000142CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, Y., & Li, S. (2020). Relationship between workplace ostracism and unsafe behaviors: The mediating effect of psychological detachment and emotional exhaustion. Psychological Reports, 123(2), 488516.10.1177/0033294118813892CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, Y., Liu, B., Zhang, L., & Qian, S. (2018). Can leader‘humility’spark employee‘proactivity’? The mediating role of psychological empowerment. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(3), 326339.10.1108/LODJ-10-2017-0307CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chenji, K., & Sode, R. (2019). Workplace ostracism and employee creativity: Role of defensive silence and psychological empowerment. Industrial and Commercial Training, 51(6), 360370.10.1108/ICT-05-2019-0049CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chung, Y. W. (2015). The mediating effects of organizational conflict on the relationships between workplace ostracism with in-role behavior and organizational citizenship behavior. International Journal of Conflict Management, 26, 366385.10.1108/IJCMA-01-2014-0001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daniels, K., Tregaskis, O., & Seaton, J. S. (2007). Job control and occupational health: The moderating role of national R&D activity. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28(1), 119.10.1002/job.390CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The ‘what’ and ‘why’ of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227268.10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emmons, R. A, & King, L. A. (1988). Conflict among personal strivings: Immediate and long-term implications for psychological and physical well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 10401048.10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1040CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Farmer, S. M., Tierney, P., & Kung-Mcintyre, K. (2003). Employee creativity in Taiwan: An application of role identity theory. Academy of Management Journal, 46(5), 618630.10.2307/30040653CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferris, D. L., Brown, D. J., Berry, J. W., & Lian, H. (2008). The development and validation of the workplace ostracism scale. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 93(6), 13481366.Google ScholarPubMed
Ferris, D. L., Lian, H., Brown, D. J., & Morrison, R. (2015). Ostracism, self-esteem, and job performance: When do we self-verify and when do we self-enhance? Academy of Management Journal, 58(1), 279297.10.5465/amj.2011.0347CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobserved variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 3950.10.1177/002224378101800104CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gkorezis, P., & Bellou, V. (2016). The relationship between workplace ostracism and information exchange: The mediating role of self-serving behavior. Management Decision, 54(3), 123.10.1108/MD-09-2015-0421CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gond, J., Igalens, I., Swaen, V., & Akremi, A. (2011). The human resources contribution to responsible leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 98, 115132.10.1007/s10551-011-1028-1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gong, Y., Kim, T. Y., & Liu, Z. (2019). Diversity of social ties and creativity: Creative self-efficacy as mediator and tie strength as moderator. Human Relations, 73(12), 16641688.10.1177/0018726719866001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gottman, J. M., & McFall, R. M. (1972). Self-monitoring effects in a program for potential high school dropouts: A time-series analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 39(2), 273.10.1037/h0033437CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guthrie, J. P. (2001). High-involvement work practices, turnover, and productivity: Evidence from New Zealand. Academy of Management Journal, 44(1), 180190.10.2307/3069345CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Howard, M. C., Cogswell, J. E., & Smith, M. B. (2020). The antecedents and outcomes of workplace ostracism: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(6), 577596.10.1037/apl0000453CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jahazeb, S., Bouckenooghe, D., & Mushatq, R. (2021). Silence and proactivity in managing supervisor ostracism: Implications for creativity. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 42, 705721.10.1108/LODJ-06-2020-0260CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, N. P., Papadakis, A. A., Hogan, C. M., & Strauman, T. J. (2009). Over and over again: Rumination, reflection, and promotion goal failure and their interactive effects on depressive symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47(3), 254259.10.1016/j.brat.2008.12.007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kickul, J., Gundry, L., & Posig, M. (2005). Does trust matter? The relationship between equity sensitivity and perceived organizational justice. Journal of Business Ethics, 56, 205218.10.1007/s10551-004-0992-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, H., & Sung-Choon, K. (2013). Strategic HR functions and firm performance: The moderating effects of high-involvement work practices. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 30(1), 91113.10.1007/s10490-011-9264-6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Kwan, H. K., Zhang, X. M., Liu, J., & Lee, C. (2018). Workplace ostracism and employee creativity: An integrative approach incorporating pragmatic and engagement roles. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(12), 13581366.10.1037/apl0000320CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lavallee, L. F., & Campbell, J. D. (1995). Impact of personal goals on self-regulation processes elicited by daily negative events. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(2), 341352.10.1037/0022-3514.69.2.341CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lepak, D. P., Liao, H., Chung, Y., & Harden, E. E. (2006). A conceptual review of human resource management systems in strategic human resource management research. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 25, 217271.Google Scholar
Macky, K., & Boxall, P. (2008). High-involvement work processes, work intensification and employee well-being: A study of New Zealand worker experiences. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 46(1), 3855.Google Scholar
Maden, C. (2015). Linking high involvement human resource practices to employee proactivity. Personnel Review, 44(5), 720738.10.1108/PR-01-2014-0030CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, L. L., & Tesser, A. (1996). Some ruminative thoughts. Advances in Social Cognition, 9, 147.Google Scholar
Matsuo, M. (2018). Effects of team unlearning on employee creativity: The mediating effect of individual reflection. Journal of Workplace Learning, 30, 531544.10.1108/JWL-03-2018-0045CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michl, L. C., Mclaughlin, K. A., Shepherd, K. A., & Nolenhoeksema, S. (2013). Rumination as a mechanism linking stressful life events to symptoms of depression and anxiety: Longitudinal evidence in early adolescents and adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 122(2), 339352.10.1037/a0031994CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nezlek, J. B., Wesselmann, E. D., Wheeler, L., & Williams, K. D. (2012). Ostracism in everyday life. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 16(2), 91104.10.1037/a0028029CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Wisco, B. E., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Rethinking rumination. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 400424.10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00088.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ollo-López, A., Bayo-Moriones, A., & Larraza-Kintana, M. (2011). The impact of country-level factors on the use of new work practices. Journal of World Business, 46(3), 394403.10.1016/j.jwb.2010.07.010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Reilly, J., Robinson, S. L., Berdahl, J. L., & Banki, S. (2014). Is negative attention better than no attention? The comparative effects of ostracism and harassment at work. Organization Science, 26(3), 774793.10.1287/orsc.2014.0900CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ott, A. R., Haun, V. C., & Binnewies, C. (2019). Negative work reflection, personal resources, and work engagement: The moderating role of perceived organizational support. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 28(1), 110123.10.1080/1359432X.2018.1550076CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qian, J., Yang, F., Wang, B., Huang, C. Y., & Song, B. H. (2019). When workplace ostracism leads to burnout: The roles of job self-determination and future time orientation. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 30(17), 24652481.10.1080/09585192.2017.1326395CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rehman, W. U., Ahmad, M., Allen, M. M. C., Raziq, M. M., & Riaz, A. (2019). High involvement HR systems and innovative work behaviour: The mediating role of psychological empowerment, and the moderating roles of manager and co-worker support. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 28(4), 525535.10.1080/1359432X.2019.1614563CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, S. L., O’Reilly, J., & Wang, W. (2013). Invisible at work an integrated model of workplace ostracism. Journal of Management, 39(1), 203231.10.1177/0149206312466141CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Searle, R., Den Hartog, D. N., Weibel, A., Gillespie, N., Six, F., Hatzakis, T., & Skinner, D. (2011). Trust in the employer: The role of high-involvement work practices and procedural justice in European organizations. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(5), 10691092.10.1080/09585192.2011.556782CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shin, S. J., Jeong, I., & Bae, J. (2018). Do high-involvement HRM practices matter for worker creativity? A cross-level approach. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(2), 260285.10.1080/09585192.2015.1137612CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Song, Z. G., Gu, Q. X., & Cooke, F. L. (2020). The effects of high-involvement work systems and shared leadership on team creativity: A multilevel investigation. Human Resource Management, 59, 201213.10.1002/hrm.21988CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomsen, D. K., Tonnesvang, J., Schnieber, A., & Olesen, M. H. (2011). Do people ruminate because they haven’t digested their goals? The relations of rumination and reflection to goal internalization and ambivalence. Motivation & Emotion, 35(2), 105117.10.1007/s11031-011-9209-xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tornroos, M., Salin, D., & Hanson, L. M. (2020). High-involvement work practices and conflict management procedures as moderators of the workplace bullying-wellbeing relationship. Work and Stress, 34(4), 386405.10.1080/02678373.2020.1801887CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trapnell, P. D., & Campbell, J. D. (1999). Private self-consciousness and the five-factor model of personality: Distinguishing rumination from reflection. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 76(2), 284304.10.1037/0022-3514.76.2.284CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tu, M., Cheng, Z. H., & Liu, W. X. (2019). Spotlight on the effect of workplace ostracism on creativity: A social cognitive perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1215.10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01215CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Twenge, J. M., Baumeister, R. F., Tice, D. M., & Stucke, T. S. (2001). If you can’t join them, beat them: Effects of social exclusion on aggressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(6), 10581069.10.1037/0022-3514.81.6.1058CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Twenge, J. M., Catanese, K. R., & Baumeister, R. F. (2003). Social exclusion and the deconstructed state: Time perception, meaninglessness, lethargy, lack of emotion, and self- awareness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(3), 409423.10.1037/0022-3514.85.3.409CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, Z. N., Liu, D. D., & Cai, S. H. (2019). Self-reflection and employee creativity: The mediating role of individual intellectual capital and the moderating role of concern for face. Chinese Management Studies, 13(4), 895917.10.1108/CMS-09-2018-0683CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, Z. N., Meng, L. J., Cai, S. H., & Jiang, L. (2020). Work reflection during leisure time and employee creativity: The role of psychological capital. Journal of Management & Organization, 113. available online.Google Scholar
Wang, Z. N., Wang, N. X., & Liang, H. G. (2014). Knowledge sharing, intellectual capital and firm performance. Management Decision, 52(2), 230258.10.1108/MD-02-2013-0064CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watkins, E. R. (2008). Constructive and unconstructive repetitive thought. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 163206.10.1037/0033-2909.134.2.163CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, K. D. (1997). Social ostracism. In Kowalski, R. M. (Ed.), Aversive interpersonal behaviors (pp. 133170). New York: Plenum.10.1007/978-1-4757-9354-3_7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, K. D. (2001). Ostracism: The power of silence. Emotions and social behavior. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Wood, R., & Bandura, A. (1989). Social cognitive theory of organizational management. Academy of Management Review, 14(3), 361384.10.2307/258173CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, W., Qu, Y. Z., Zhang, Y. H., Hao, S. Y., Tang, F. C., Zhao, N., & Si, H. J. (2019). Needs frustration makes me silent: Workplace ostracism and newcomers’ voice behavior. Journal of Management & Organization, 25(5), 635652.10.1017/jmo.2017.81CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xia, A. J., Wang, B., Song, B. H., Zhang, W., & Qian, J. (2019). How and when workplace ostracism influences task performance: Through the lens of conservation of resource theory. Human Resource Management Journal, 29(3), 353370.10.1111/1748-8583.12226CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yan, Y. L., Zhou, E. H., Long, L. R., & Ji, Y. (2014). The influence of workplace ostracism on counterproductive work behavior: The mediating effect of state self-control. Social Behavior and Personality, 42(6), 881890.10.2224/sbp.2014.42.6.881CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yuan, F., & Woodman, R. W. (2010). Innovative behavior in the workplace: The role of performance and image outcome expectations. Academy of Management Journal, 53(2), 323342.10.5465/amj.2010.49388995CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhao, C. (2009). A survey conducted by zhaopin.com says that more than 70% of office workers encounter ‘emotional office abuse’, Xinhua. http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-08/10/content_11857718.htm.Google Scholar