ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Organizational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1537617
Beyond Flirtation: Social Sexual Behavior and Employee Innovation -The Moderating Effects of Gender and Social Sexual Behavior Frequency
Provisionally accepted
- Baird Liberal Arts College, Soongsil University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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This study investigates how supervisors' social sexual behavior (SSB) influences subordinates' psychological social resources and innovative behavior, with particular attention to the moderating roles of gender and SSB frequency. Analysis of survey data from 212 employees across South Korean private sector organizations revealed that favorable perceptions of supervisors' SSB positively affected subordinates' psychological social resources, which in turn enhanced innovative behavior. The relationship between SSB and psychological social resources was moderated by gender, with female employees experiencing stronger positive effects compared to their male counterparts. However, high frequency of SSB attenuated its positive impact on psychological social resources, suggesting an optimal threshold. These findings contribute to the emerging literature on workplace SSB by highlighting its potential role in fostering innovation through psychological resources, while emphasizing the importance of considering individual differences and contextual factors. The results provide practical implications for organizations seeking to cultivate an environment conducive to innovation while maintaining appropriate interpersonal boundaries.
Keywords: Social sexual behavior, psychological social resources, Innovative behavior, gender, social sexual behavior frequency, Moderating effect
Received: 12 Mar 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Eunmi Jang, Baird Liberal Arts College, Soongsil University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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