A latent profile analysis linking individual intellectual capital to radical and incremental creativity

Research on individual intellectual capital (IIC) focuses on how employees utilize 3 dimensions-individual human capital (IHC), individual structural capital (ISC), and individual relational capital (IRC)-to stimulate employee creativity (including, radical and incremental creativity) independently or additively. However, this variable-centered perspective ignores the possibility that there are employees who may differ in their combined use of IHC, ISC, and IRC, leading to not get a clearer picture of how radical and incremental creativity is actually affected by their subpopulations. To address this issue, we conducted 2 studies that examined IHC, ISC, and IRC from a person-centered perspective. Using latent profile analysis, we identified 4 IIC profiles-excellence, self-absorption, social interaction, and general-and found that these profiles were differentially predicted radical and incremental creativity. Our results reveal new insights into the nature of IIC and how different employees falling into these profiles can be best managed to accomplish different forms of creativity.