LAUSR

Most previous researches have only examined the linear and direct relationship between relationship conflict and team creativity. Drawing on the threat regulation theory, this paper aims to investigate the curvilinear relationship between relationship conflict and team creativity, as well as the mediating role of team learning and the moderating role of transformational leadership. A questionnaire survey was conducted to gather data in China. We received completed questionnaires from 83 teams comprised of 83 team managers and 466 team members. Relationship conflict had an inverted U-shaped relationship with team creativity, and team learning mediated this relationship. High level transformational leadership was found to alleviate the positive influence of low relationship conflict on team learning and mitigate the negative impact of high relationship conflict on team learning. The main limitation is the study’s cross-sectional nature, meaning that causality in relationships cannot be established. Despite these limitations, the present research still provides insights into conflict management, creativity, and leadership literature. This study’s findings offer some guidance on how to stimulate team creativity through relationship conflict. Furthermore, managers should maintain a moderate level of relationship conflict and adopt a high level of transformational leadership to facilitate team learning when teams are in a high level of relationship conflict. This study develops an exhaustive understanding of the impact of transformational leadership on the conflict–creativity relationship by illustrating the curvilinear relationship between relationship conflict and team creativity through team learning.