From anxiety to innovation: the effect of perceived involution on digital creativity via the parallel mediation of relative deprivation and constructive deviance.

Introduction: Against the backdrop of enterprise digital transformation, the increasing displacement of routine roles by technology has intensified workplace competition. This has led to persistently heightened pressure and induced anxiety among employees in a highly competitive environment. Such pressure and anxiety have progressively evolved into a psychological state characterized by diminishing returns cognition and development prospect anxiety, namely, perceived involution, which subsequently affects employees' willingness to apply and innovate in digital technology. Methods: This study employed a two-stage questionnaire survey methodology, utilizing a sample of 405 employees from Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises. It constructed a dual-pathway model mediated by constructive deviance and relative deprivation, with the competitive psychological climate serving as a moderator. Results: The empirical results show that perceived involution exerts a complex dual-path influence on employees' digital creativity. On the one hand, some employees enhance their creativity through constructive deviance, but on the other hand, more employees experience relative deprivation stemming from this perception, thereby inhibiting creativity. The moderating effect of the competitive psychological climate is asymmetric-it does not amplify the positive pathway but significantly exacerbates the negative pathway. Discussion: This study reveals the contradictory mechanism of employees' innovative behavior in an environment of involution and suggests that anxiety and stress play key roles in this process. This provides important management implications for enterprises to optimize their competitive culture from the perspective of mental health care and stress management, alleviate employees' systemic anxiety, and fully stimulate their innovation potential.