When knowledge flows backward: enhancing older employee creativity through cognitive flexibility
1School of Business Administration, Xinjiang College of Science & Technology, Korla, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|August 6, 2026
Summary
Knowledge counterflow, the transfer of knowledge from younger to older employees, enhances older worker creativity by boosting cognitive flexibility. This effect is reduced when knowledge is difficult to absorb (high knowledge stickiness).
Area of Science:
- Organizational Behavior
- Human Resource Development
- Gerontology
Background:
- The aging workforce presents opportunities and challenges for organizations.
- Harnessing the creative potential of older employees is crucial for sustained innovation.
- Existing research needs to explore specific mechanisms that foster creativity in older workers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate factors enhancing creativity among older employees.
- To examine the role of knowledge counterflow in facilitating older employee creativity.
- To explore the moderating effect of knowledge stickiness on this relationship.
Main Methods:
- A time-lagged survey design was employed.
- Data were collected from 323 older employees.
- Statistical analysis was used to test the proposed model.
Main Results:
- Knowledge counterflow positively influences older employee creativity.
- Increased cognitive flexibility mediates the relationship between knowledge counterflow and creativity.
- Knowledge stickiness negatively moderates the effect of knowledge counterflow on creativity.
Conclusions:
- Knowledge counterflow is a viable strategy for enhancing older employee creativity.
- Organizations should consider strategies to facilitate knowledge sharing from younger to older employees.
- Managing knowledge stickiness is important to maximize the benefits of knowledge counterflow for an aging workforce.
Keywords:
aging workforcecognitive flexibilityknowledge counterflowknowledge stickinessolder employee creativityMore Related Videos
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