Innovation and Creativity from Remote: Do Women Innovate Differently from Men, and Why?

Frame of the research. The study considers how social isolation and work-home relate to Innovative Work Behavior (IWB) and creativity, by considering the impact of these domestic variables on remote working through a gendered perspective. Purpose of the paper. The paper aims to explore the effects of social isolation and work-home conflict on the relationship between IWB and creativity, with a specific focus on gender differences. The research contributes to understand how remote working conditions influence creativity and IWB, offering insights into gender dynamics in domestic work contexts. Methodology. We collected primary data through surveys sent to remote working employees from four Italian corporations between April and May 2020. 803 valid responses were analysed through IBM SPSS Statistics. Results. Hierarchical regression analyses, split by gender, reveal a positive association between IWB and creativity in remote work for both genders. Instead, work-home conflict and social isolation show a negative correlation with creativity, although asymmetrically across gender lines. Research limitations. The paper's limitations include its cross-sectional design, which limits its ability to assess causality, and the reliance on self-reported data, potentially introducing bias. Additionally, the incremental variance explained by the moderation model is limited. Managerial implications. The findings offer valuable insights for organisations and collaborative managerial leaders, who are encouraged to adopt gender-tailored policies supporting employees' well-being and performance. This includes creating open communication channels, training programs, occasions for collective innovation and flexible job arrangements. Originality of the paper. The main contribution of this study consists in the integration of a gendered perspective to examine the impacts of social isolation and work-home conflict on the nexus between IWB and creativity in remote working contexts. It highlights the asymmetrical impacts of these domestic variables across genders and suggests that the shift to remote work conditions may differently influence men’s and women’s creativity.