Industry 4.0 technologies and green creativity: mediating roles of playful work design and leisure crafting

Adopting conservation of resources (COR) theory, we propose that Industry 4.0 technologies (I40Ts) perceived as useful and easy to use by employees may supply workplace resources. These extra resources may promote the proactive work/non-work activities of employees for further resource acquisition, which predicts their green creativity, particularly for those with strong green personal values. We empirically validate our propositions using three-wave, multi-source data collected from 282 employees and their managers. Results confirm the positive relationship between the I40T perceptions (usefulness and ease of use) and green creativity, and this relationship is mediated by playful work design and leisure crafting. Additionally, the green personal values of employees amplify the indirect effects of I40T perceptions on green creativity. Drawing on COR, this study reveals the way employees can gain extra resources for work- and non-work-related proactivity in the context of innovation implementation.