Nonlinearity in innovative work behavior in educational systems: The dynamic interplay between creative self-efficacy and burnout

Employees’ Innovative Work Behavior (IWB) is a significant challenge in workplace and crucial for quality outcomes. Considering the vital role of educational systems in societal advancement, an in-depth examination of teachers’ IWB is necessary, focusing on environmental and personal resources, which facilitate the outcomes, and moderator variables, which impede them. This original research, conducted within the Complexity and Dynamical Systems framework, employed data from 2437 teachers to predict IWB from Creative Self-Efficacy (CSE) and Burnout (i.e., Disengagement and Exhaustion). The findings illustrate the nonlinear effects of CSE, Disengagement, and Exhaustion, as the two cusp catastrophe models proved superior to their linear and logistic alternatives. The cusp models suggest that, if a critical value the bifurcation factor exceeds, sudden changes occur in the IWB, highlighting the significant role of burnout that causes chaos and unpredictability in human behavior within educational systems. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.