现有文献以及通俗读物中普遍认为面子制约了中国员工的创新行为。然而，注重面子真的会让中国人缺乏创新吗？申请人认为，之前的研究由于将面子简单操作化为一个单维度构念，所得出的结论并不能真正揭示面子同创新行为之间的复杂关系，事实上，面子的不同维度对于创新行为可能会产生性质相异甚至方向相反的影响。本课题将面子区分为"想要面子"、"怕掉面子"，以及"顾及他人面子"等三个维度，然后结合对它们所引发心理过程的理论分析，从社会-政治视角和信息处理视角考察它们对于员工创新行为的不同影响，以及影响所发生的中介机制和调节因素。总的来讲，本课题从面子这一重要的传统文化价值观出发，考察中国企业情境下员工创新行为的文化根源，所取得的成果不仅有助于从本土化角度深入理解创新行为的内在规律，还为研究个体差异因素影响创新行为的心理过程提供了新的理论视角，对于中国企业的创新管理实践也具有重要的实践价值。

As can be easily found in both academic research and practical books, the concept of face has long been seen as one cultural root restraining Chinese employees from innovative work behavior. However, do Chinese people really become less innovative simply because they value face? The overly reliance on the simplistic operationalization of face as a unidimensional construct in prior studies might have masked the complex relationships between face and innovation. Indeed, face is multi-dimensional in nature. Different dimensions of face can exert diverse or even opposite effects on employee innovative behavior so that the effects of face on innovation cannot be simply combined into one negative relationship. Therefore, the current project operationalizes the concept of face into three dimensions, namely "desire to gain face", "fear of losing face", and "concern for others' face". After explicating their motivational processes, we theorize and test their effects on innovative behavior from social-political perspective and information-processing perspective. The project also explores the mediational mechanisms through which face dimensions influence innovative behavior, and the moderators which may augment or mitigate the effects. To sum up, this project aims to illuminate the cultural origins of innovative behavior in the Chinese context by treating face as an antecedent construct. This project will help to broaden theoretical perspectives used in explaining why employees engage in innovation, and research findings will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the myth behind employee innovative behavior in Chinese organizations.