Promoting university researchers’ innovative work behavior through mindfulness: Creative self-efficacy and inspiration as mediators

In today’s rapidly evolving academic environment, fostering innovative work behavior among university researchers is crucial for driving advancements across various fields. This study examined the relationship between mindfulness and the innovative work behavior of university researchers, as well as the mediating roles of creative self-efficacy and creative inspiration. Employing a combination of snowball and purposive sampling methods, we collected 342 online questionnaires and analyzed the data using structural equation modeling via Amos 26.0. The findings indicated there were positive correlations between mindfulness and creative self-efficacy, and between mindfulness and creative inspiration. Moreover, the positive relationship between mindfulness and innovative work behavior was mediated by creative self-efficacy and creative inspiration. This underscores the importance of universities prioritizing mindfulness training to enhance the levels of creative self-efficacy and creative inspiration among researchers, thereby fostering the development of their innovative work behavior.