Are Multiple-Identity Holders More Creative? The Roles of Ambivalence and Mindfulness

Individuals in organizations commonly define themselves using multiple salient identities. When individuals adopt multiple identities at work, they have several cognitive and emotional frameworks in which to interpret and respond to a single event, resulting in ambivalent cognitions and emotions towards their work. Drawing on the identity and ambivalence literature, we propose that multiple identities (versus a single identity) would be positively related to individuals’ cognitive and emotional ambivalence. Because ambivalence has the potential to broaden one’s thinking and lead to cognitive flexibility, we further suggest that ambivalence may mediate the relationship between multiple identities and individual creative performance. We also suggest that individuals’ mindfulness may strengthen the relationship between ambivalence and creative performance and therefore strengthen the indirect effect of multiple identities on creative performance via ambivalence. The results from two multi-wave, multi-source survey studies supported many of our hypotheses. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.