How Does Perceived Innovation Importance Underpin the Association Between Deliberate Practice and Employee Creative Behavior

Abstract

In the pursuit of innovation, the critical role of deliberate practice in enhancing employee creative behavior is examined, considering the influences of harmonious entrepreneurial passion and the importance employees perceive in innovation within their organizations. This investigation, grounded in self‐determination theory (SDT) and social cognitive theory, proposes a model where deliberate practice impacts employee creative behavior through the mediating effect of harmonious entrepreneurial passion and is further amplified by the level of perceived innovation importance. The study uses a multisource, three‐wave data collection technique to gather data from employees working in software houses in Pakistan. The study utilizes SmartPLS (v 4.0) to assess the measurement and structural models. The findings reveal that deliberate practice has a significant positive impact on employee creative behavior. Besides, harmonious entrepreneurial passion mediates the link between deliberate practice and employee creative behavior. In addition, the results confirm the interaction effect of perceived innovation importance. The positive influence of deliberate practice on employee creative behavior through the mediating role of harmonious entrepreneurial passion is more potent at higher levels of perceived innovation importance. The study presents several important theoretical and practical implications.