Rooted in the regulatory focus perspective, this study explores how organization innovation capabilities (ICs) spur the feelings of epistemic curiosity which, in turn, enhances job crafting (JC) behavior. This study aims to investigate the presence of promotion focus between organizational ICs and epistemic curiosity that serves as a catalyst to improve innovation and creativity among employees working in the IT industry of Pakistan.
Using a four-factor model in CFA and by using Model 7 in Process Macro, the authors tested a moderated mediation model from a time-lagged [T1, T2] collected data from 385 IT specialists working with various IT firms and software houses.
The results of this study show that ICs are more likely to spur epistemic curiosity among employees which, in turn, invokes JC behavior. Results further suggest that, the indirect relationship amid employees’ perception of ICs and JC through epistemic curiosity is moderated by their promotion regulatory focus, such that the indirect association is stronger among employees with a higher level of promotion regulatory focus.
As the manner of goal pursuit varies across individuals, so is their regulatory focus, that is, how do they regulate themselves in different tasks or in different situations within an organization. This study, thus, provides several theoretical contributions to JC behavior and regulatory focus perspective. This study extends the existing theoretical perspective of regulatory focus theory by gauging the impact of organizational ICs on employee’s crafting behaviors at work using promotion focus lens.
For organizations, this study identifies a key mechanism through which JC can determine the professional behaviors at workplace, and this mechanism is more influential for employees with high regulatory focus. Till now, very few studies highlight precursors and consequences variables of crafting.
