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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Organizational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1468489
Bridging Perfectionism and Innovation: A Moderated-Mediation Model Based on Achievement Goal Theory
Provisionally accepted- 1 Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
- 2 Harrow International School Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- 3 Tongji University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
This study addresses a critical gap in the literature by examining how and when employee perfectionism influences innovation performance. Drawing on achievement goal theory, we propose a moderated-mediation model in which learning goal orientation mediates the distinct effects of negative and positive perfectionism on innovation performance, with perceived failure analysis as an organizational culture moderating this mediation. Using survey data from 378 core R&D employees across nine high-tech manufacturing firms in China, we find that negative perfectionism impedes innovation performance by fostering avoidance behaviors and risk aversion, whereas positive perfectionism enhances innovation performance by promoting mastery-oriented learning and experimentation. Furthermore, perceived failure analysis strengthens the positive perfectionisminnovation performance link by validating mastery goals and encouraging learning from failures, but it has no significant effect on the negative perfectionism pathway, as avoidance-oriented employees perceive failure analysis as threatening rather than informative. These findings contribute to the literature in three key ways: (1) by highlighting the dual-edged nature of perfectionism in innovation contexts, (2) by underscoring the mediating role of learning goal orientation in translating perfectionistic tendencies into innovation outcomes, and (3) by identifying perceived failure analysis as a cultural lever that amplifies the benefits of adaptive perfectionism while failing to mitigate the risks of maladaptive perfectionism. Our study offers actionable insights for organizations seeking to harness perfectionism's adaptive potential while minimizing its detrimental effects.
Keywords: employee perfectionism, innovation performance, Learning goal orientation, perceived failure analysis, achievement goal theory
Received: 22 Jul 2024; Accepted: 05 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jia, Yue, Fang and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shuping Yue, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
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