Impact of Team Relationship Differentiation on Team Creativity: A Qualitative Research with Psychological Safety in the Team as a Mediator

Impact of team relationship differentiation on team creativity

Team psychological safety Team creativity Qualitative research

Authors

  • Lan Jing
    jing_l@mail.rmutt.ac.th
    School of Business Administration, Rajamangala University of Technology, Thanyaburi, Pathum Thani, Thailand, Thailand
  • Krisada Chienwattanasook Department of Management, School of Business Administration, Rajamangala University of Technology, Thanyaburi, Pathum Thani, Thailand, Thailand
February 26, 2024
March 2, 2024

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Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of team relationship differentiation on team creativity from the perspective of psychological safety of teams in China.

Methods: Qualitative research methods were used to conduct in-depth online and face-to-face interviews with respondents. The interviewees were 7 team leaders aged 23-43 years in the professional services, and retail and manufacturing sectors, which account for a large proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Data were collected by exploring the perspectives and experiences of the team leaders, analyzing the material in detail using content analysis, and then, managing and interpreting the data using NVivo software.

Results: The results show that the effects of the differentiation of team relationships on team creativity are mainly reflected in two aspects: differentiation of exchange relationships between the leader and team member (leader-member exchange) and differentiation of relationships between team members. In particular, psychological safety in the team plays an important role as a bridge and mediator.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that with different psychological safety levels of teams, the difference in relationship strength between the difference in the relationship between superiors and subordinates and the difference in the relationship between team members, and the creativity of the team. If the impact of the differentiation of adjustment relationships on the team cannot be balanced, it will hinder the team's innovation activities and the improvement of team effectiveness, thus affecting the team's overall creativity.