Research On The Influence And Mechanism Of Enterprise Rationality On Organizational Creativity

Rationality,a core concept in Economics and the foundation of management activities,is regarded as the presupposition and implied condition of human activities.Enterprises are made up of people and creative activities of enterprises are conducted under the control of reason,just like human activities.So what is enterprise rationality? What are the dimensions and levels of enterprise rationality? How does enterprise rationality affect creative activity? What principles do enterprises follow in carrying out creative activities? What are the goals of enterprises? What problems will be caused by the imperfect mechanism and incomplete dimensions of enterprise rationality? To answer these questions,it is necessary to solve the problem of enterprise rationality first.Enterprise rationality guides and constrains enterprises' creative behaviors,which include feasible creative behaviors and unfeasible creative behaviors.Organizational creativity is influenced by enterprises' internal and external behaviors and environment,among which enterprise rationality is the most fundamental factor.By studying the influence of enterprise rationality on organizational creativity,the paper uncovers the black box of deep creative activities of enterprises,reveals which creative behaviors of enterprises are positive,proactive and long-lasting and explains why some enterprises become century-old shops and some others are short-lived.This paper focuses on the following issues: Firstly,what are the concepts,dimensions,and levels of enterprise rationality? How does each dimension affect enterprises' creative activities? How do the imperfect mechanism and incomplete dimensions of enterprise rationality affect enterprises' creative behaviors? Secondly,under the guidance and constraint of enterprise rationality,what is the boundary of the enterprises' creative behaviors? What are the enterprises' goals? Are they the current interests of enterprises,the long-term economic benefits of enterprises,the interests of stakeholders,or the common development of mankind in the future? Thirdly,how are innovative impetus and innovative intensity motivated by enterprise rationality? How do enterprises' innovative impetus and innovative intensity influence organizational creativity? What is the relationship between enterprise rationality,innovative impetus and innovative intensity,and organizational creativity? Fourthly,how does enterprise rationality affect innovative impetus,innovative intensity and organizational creativity under the condition of environmental uncertainty? How do enterprises make decisions when they face a conflict of interests,especially when it involves a conflict between enterprise interests and other interests?Based on theory of reasoned action,social cognitive theory and ethical theory,this paper constructs a theoretical model of enterprise rationality affecting organizational creativity,and puts forward 38 relevant research hypotheses.To validate the research hypotheses,this paper purifies the items of the questionnaire by using 100 pre-study data and by adopting methods such as CITC,SPSS and structural equation model,and makes exploratory factor analysis by using the purified item data.The results are consistent with the theoretical study and a final questionnaire is thus formed.In total,1307 questionnaires are distributed,among which 862 are returned and 565 are valid.Reliability analysis,validity analysis,correlation analysis,measurement model analysis,path analysis,and multi-level linear regression analysis of the valid questionnaire data are performed by using the software of AMOSS,SPSS,and Stata.The results are consistent,30 hypotheses are verified.The main innovations of this paper are as follows:Firstly,this paper makes a theoretical analysis of enterprise rationality,and based on creative behaviors,proposes and defines a four-level model of enterprise rationality,namely,scientific rationality,economic rationality,transactional rationality,and ethical rationality.Scientific rationality deals with ways,methods,applicability,feasibility and scientificity of creative activities;economic rationality deals with maximizing the long-term economic benefits of enterprises;transactional rationality deals with maximizing the interests of the stakeholders;and ethical rationality deals with maximizing the benefits of the third party,environment,human future,and social sustainable development.The imperfect mechanism and incomplete dimensions of enterprise rationality are the root causes of all enterprises' problems.Secondly,this paper designs the measurement scale of scientific rationality,economic rationality,transactional rationality and ethical rationality based on creative behaviors.The scientific rationality questionnaire contains three topics: scientific and technological decision-making model,scientific and technological feasibility,and compliance with the laws of science and technology.The economic rationality questionnaire contains five topics: maximizing long-term economic interests,pursuing opportunities for maximum benefits,setting long-term financial health goals,seeking long-term financial returns,and exploring core competitiveness.The transactional rationality questionnaire contains three topics: actual consumer demand,consumer satisfaction,and employee satisfaction.The ethical rationality questionnaire contains three topics: social development status,social ethics and social environment.Thirdly,this paper takes enterprises' creative behaviors as rational choices of enterprises,reveals the influence of enterprise rationality on enterprises' creative behaviors,and expands and deepens the rationality theory that supports enterprises' creative behaviors.Enterprises' creative behaviors are essentially enterprises' rational behaviors,and are dominated by the different rational levels of enterprises.Enterprise rationality is the source of motivation for creative behaviors,and the key to determine the input intensity of creative behaviors.This paper constructs the theoretical model of “enterprise rationality(input I)— enterprises' creative behaviors(process P)— organizational creativity(output O)”.It is believed that enterprise rationality guides and constrains innovative impetus,innovative intensity and organizational creativity,and determines the survival,development and life of enterprises.The standard for the success of enterprises' creative behaviors is to integrate enterprise rationality into enterprises' creative behaviors and to embody enterprise rationality in enterprises' creative behaviors.Fourthly,this paper reveals the relationship between enterprise rationality,enterprises' creative behaviors,organizational creativity and environmental uncertainty.The data and statistical tests show: dimensions of enterprise rationality directly affects organizational creativity and also indirectly influences organizational creativity through innovative impetus,that is,innovative impetus mediates between enterprise rationality and organizational creativity;scientific rationality,transactional rationality and ethical rationality directly impact on organizational creativity and also indirectly influence organizational creativity through innovative intensity,that is,innovative intensity plays an intermediary role between scientific rationality,transactional rationality and ethical rationality,and organizational creativity;under the same conditions,the more dynamic the environment is,the more profound the influence of scientific rationality,economic rationality,and transactional rationality on innovative impetus is,and the more profound the influence of ethical rationality on innovative intensity is;the more competitive the environment is,the more profound the influence of scientific rationality,economic rationality and transactional rationality on innovative impetus is,and the more profound the influence of scientific rationality,transactional rationality,and ethical rationality on innovative intensity is.