How do Challenge-hindrance Stressors Differential Influence Employees’ Innovative Behavior? The Roles of Job Crafting and Constructive Controversy

This study investigates the complex relationship between challenge-hindrance stressors and employees’ innovative behavior by examining job crafting as a mediating variable and constructive controversy as a moderating variable. To test our theoretical model, we utilized multilevel sampling method to collected data from a sample of 560 employees of high-tech enterprises in eastern China, and performed confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS 24, conducted reliability tests and hierarchical regression analysis via SPSS 26, and examined the mediating and moderating effects through the Bootstrap sampling approach. Our findings indicate that challenge stressor have a positive influence on both job crafting and employees’ innovative behavior. Conversely, hindrance stressor has a significant negative correlation with job crafting and employees' innovative behavior. Notably, job crafting serves as a mediating factor in the relationship between challenge-hindrance stressors and employees’ innovative behavior. Furthermore, constructive controversy amplifies the positive impact of challenge stressors on job crafting, it positively moderates the mediating influence of job crafting on the relationship between challenge stressors and employees’ innovative behavior.