The Structure And Measurement Of Academic Supervisor Leadership And Its Effect On The Creativity Of Postgraduates

Creativity is a key driver for science and technology development, and also a crucial determinate of national competitiveness. It has always been the mission of higher education to cultivate creators and produce creativity for human society and its country. Academic supervisors, who undertake the dual tasks of fostering creators and leading creativity production at a university, are the front-line workers of the mission. Undoubtedly, creativity of postgraduates is a key performance index for the dual tasks of academic supervisors, and a significant determinant of higher education mission. In recent years, education reforms for postgraduates’creativity have been performing at many universities of China. However, the level of postgraduates’ creativity is not satisfactory and its education is in a dilemma. From perspective of Organization Behavior, leadership of one’s supervisor is one of most significant factors influencing postgraduates’creativity. Therefore, it is necessary to understand systematically how an academic supervisor leadership (ASL) influences the creativity of postgraduates. This would be helpful to promote performance of academic supervisors, to carry out creativity education reform effectively, thereby achieving higher education mission. Nevertheless, so far, the theory on ASL is at the exploration stage:it is still unclear the nature and construct of ASL; it has been confusing what the relationship of ASL and postgraduates creativity is; it is remaining unknown the mechanism of ASL influencing the creativity of postgraduates. To fill these gaps, the study reported in this paper aims to define ASL, to explore the relationship between ASL and postgraduates’ creativity, and to disclose the mechanism of ASL influencing the creativity of postgraduates. Therefore, we propose and answer the following five research questionsResearch question 1:What is ASL? This question is going to reveal the nature and construct of ASL from perspective of leadership behaviors. We began with a generalization of leadership behaviors positively influencing individual creativity from selected literature by systematic evaluation. Then, we employed content analysis to understand the relationship between empowering, considering, motivating and developing behaviors and individual creativity. After that, we defined ASL as a process that an academic supervisor constructs and nurtures students’creativity by empowering, considering, motivating and developing behaviors.Research question 2:How to measure ASL? This question intends to provide a research instrument for the theory development of ASL. Based on the conception of ASL, we developed an instrument (Academic Supervisor Leadership Scale, ASLS) to measure it. The result of an exploratory factor analysis on 181 pilot samples disclosed ASL was constructed by four factors:empowering, considering, developing and motivating. The result of a confirmatory factor analysis on 677 survey samples confirmed that ASLS had satisfactory reliability and validity.Research question 3:Which relationship is between ASL and the creativity of postgraduates? This question intends to clarify the correlation of ASL and the creativity of postgraduates. Based on self-determination theory, cognitive evaluation theory, componential framework of creativity, and motivation theories, we explored whether ASL behaviors and individual creativity is curve correlation. We employed curve estimation and hierarchical regression to analysis data from 677 postgraduates. The results demonstrated a curvilinear (U-shaped) relationship between ASL and the creativity of postgraduates.Research question 4:How ASL influences the creativity of postgraduates? This question is going to disclose the mediating mechanism of ASL influencing postgraduates’ creativity. Based on the assumptions of the componential framework of creativity, we proposed and tested a hypothetical model of ASL influencing postgraduates’creativity through intrinsic motivation, creative thinking and professional knowledge. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed to analysis data from 677 postgraduates, and the results demonstrated that intrinsic motivation, creative thinking and professional knowledge are three mediators, and these mediators interact with each other.Research question 5:Does ASL have supportive efforts on the creativity of postgraduates? This question intends to provide more evidence to rich ASL theory. Based on the cognitive evaluation theory and social exchange theory, we proposed and tested a hypothetical model that ASL and abusive supervision act on postgraduates’ creativity through leader-member exchange (LMX) and intrinsic motivation. We employed path analysis (PA) and SEM to analysis 677 data, the results proved that ASL had supportive effects on creativity of postgraduates through LMX and intrinsic motivation, while abusive supervision had opposite effects.The main contributions of the study reported include:(1) it sets up the foundation for ASL theory development by conceptualizing ASL primarily; (2) it provides a research instrument by developing Academic Supervisior Leadership Scale (ASLS); (3) it provides a fresh perspective to interpret the relationship between ASL and postgraduates’creativity by disclosing their U shape correlation; (4) it constructs the basic model of ASL theory by explore the underlying mechanism of ASL influencing postgraduates’creativity and the functions of intrinsic motivation, creative thinking and professional knowledge for creativity development; (5) it extended the existing theory by testing the supportive effects of ASL on postgraduates’creativity through LMX and intrinsic motivation.The significant implications of the main findings are:(1) at the individual level, it is a source of references which guides academic supervisors effective employ leadership behaviors to develop students’ creativity; (2) at the organization level, it is a source of references which supplements or adjustments the extant regulations and rules for academic supervisors, and that academics familiarize themselves with it before they undertake the role of postgraduate supervisor, thereby advancing the quality of postgraduate education; (3) at the national level, it advances creativity production and prepare creators, thereby achieving nation innovation strategy and promoting national competitiveness.