How Team Identification and Expertise Identification Affect R&D Employees' Creativity

摘要

The relationship between team identification and expertise identification in the R&D context and the mechanism by which these variables influence R&D creativity is not yet clear. We present and empirically test a theoretical framework proposing that knowledge sharing mediates the relationship between identification and creativity in R&D teams. Based on 120 paired-sample survey data of 30 R&D teams, we show that knowledge sharing mediates the relationship between team identification (but not expertise identification) and R&D team members' creativity. Contributions to the literature and the practice of innovation and R&D management, knowledge and creativity management, and team management are discussed.