Sowing the seeds of happiness, personal values, and creative behavior: The role of CSR perception in hospitality services

Employee creative behavior (ECB) is vital for innovation and competitiveness in hospitality firms, yet its antecedents remain underexplored in non-Western contexts. This study investigates work happiness (WH) encompassing engagement, satisfaction, and affective organizational commitment as a predictor of ECB, mediated by personal values (PV) and moderated by corporate social responsibility perception (CSRP). Grounded in Schwartz's Theory of Personal Values, we propose that PV, specifically openness to change and self-transcendence, channel WH into ECB, with CSRP amplifying this pathway by fostering value alignment and psychological safety. Employing a time-lagged, multisource design, data from 413 frontline hospitality employees in China were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SmartPLS). Findings confirm that WH significantly enhances ECB through PV, with stronger effects at higher CSRP levels. This novel moderated mediation model offers theoretical insights into affective, cognitive, and contextual drivers of creativity and practical strategies for hospitality managers to promote employee well-being and innovation.