The Pygmalion Process and Employee Creativity

TLDR

The authors studied the Pygmalion process in creativity by surveying 140 R&D employees. The findings confirm the Pygmalion model: supervisors with higher expectations were seen as more supportive, and employees’ perceptions of expectations and creative self‑efficacy mediated the link between supervisor expectations and creative performance.

Abstract

The study examined the Pygmalion process for creativity among 140 R&D employees. Results generally supported the Pygmalion model. Supervisors holding higher expectations for employee creativity were perceived by employees as behaving more supportively of creativity. The effects of these behaviors on employee creative self-efficacy were mediated by employee view of creativity expectations. Creative self-efficacy mediated the effects of supervisor expectations, supervisor behaviors, and employee view, on creative performance. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.