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Innovation has become indispensable across sectors, yet empirical research exploring its antecedents in physical education remains limited. Grounded in the transactional theory of stress and coping, this study investigates how creative self-efficacy mediates the relationship between technostress and innovation in physical education, and how perceived innovation importance moderates these links. Using a time-lagged, multisource survey design, data were collected from 405 faculty members across physical education departments at Chinese universities and analyzed via variance-based structural equation modeling. Results reveal that elevated technostress-comprising overload, invasion, complexity, insecurity, and uncertainty-diminishes creative self-efficacy, which subsequently reduces teachers' implementation of innovative instructional strategies and technologies. Furthermore, the negative influence of technostress on both creative self-efficacy and innovation is significantly weakened when educators perceive innovation as integral to their institution's mission. These findings position creative self-efficacy as a critical psychological mechanism through which technostress hinders innovation and highlight perceived innovation importance as a contextual buffer that can mitigate these adverse effects. For policymakers and educational leaders, the study reinforces the value of cultivating educators' creative confidence alongside an institutional culture that prioritizes innovation. Together, these strategies can help offset the detrimental impact of technostress and support sustainable pedagogical innovation in physical education.
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