The effects of high-involvement work systems and shared leadership on team creativity: a multilevel investigation

Understanding how to effectively stimulate creative potential in the workplace through strategic human resource management (HRM) practices is critical to enhancing organizational competitiveness. This study investigates the effects of high-involvement work systems (HIWS) on team creativity in terms of ability–motivation–opportunity theory and a team input–process–output model. It draws on a data set consisting of 668 employees from 112 teams in 41 organizations in China. The results reveal that HIWS are positively related to team creativity, not only directly, but also indirectly through a sequential mediating mechanism of involvement climate and shared leadership. We argue that when employees are placed in an autonomous work environment underpinned by HIWS, they will be more likely to be involved in creative activities and engage in mutual influence behaviors in their work teams, and lead each other to achieve a higher level of creativity. Our study extends the knowledge on strategic HRM/HIWS, shared leadership, and creativity.