The paradoxical relationship between sense of power and creativity: Countervailing pathways and a boundary condition

When sense of power helps or hinders creativity remains an unresolved question. Drawing upon the approach-inhibition theory of power and its extensions, we integrate two different predictions into a dual-pathway model, showing the paradoxical role that sense of power—one's perceived ability to influence others—plays in predicting creativity. Specifically, sense of power helps creativity through increased risk-taking and simultaneously hinders it through reduced perspective taking. We further propose openness to experience as a moderator of the countervailing mechanisms, such that the positive path through risk-taking is stronger and the negative path through perspective taking is weaker for individuals with higher (vs. lower) levels of openness. We test our hypotheses with three multisource and multi-wave field studies (Study 1: n = 181 part-time MBAs paired with peers; Study 2: n = 128 sales employees paired with store managers; Study 3: n = 153 sales employees paired with store managers). The results support our theoretical model, showing that sense of power and creativity are simultaneously connected positively through risk-taking and negatively through perspective taking, and that the overall indirect effect of sense of power on creativity is more positive for individuals with higher (vs. lower) levels of openness to experience.