Exploring the Role of Risk in Employee Creativity

This paper argues that creative behavior requires an employee to be willing to engage risk. Aside from the discussion of risk propensity as an individual difference, a new situational variable will be developed and tested: willingness to take risks (WTR). WTR captures the employee’s willingness to engage risks in their work and is positioned as an important influence on creative behavior. The results of a field study indicate that WTR is a significant predictor of employee creativity and, in addition, mediates the relationship between encouragement and creativity. The results are discussed in light of the current literature on employee creativity.