Linking person–organization adhocracy value congruence to creativity

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the effect of person–organization (P-O) adhocracy value congruence on employee creativity using the supplementary fit theory while investigating the moderating effect of the immediate supervisor's transformational leadership.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses polynomial regression to analyze 431 employees from 47 Chinese companies.FindingsHigher levels of creativity were observed in employees whose adhocracy value was congruent with that of the organization.Practical implicationsThe practice of hiring employees with creative value or building creative culture may not trigger employee creativity if managers do not take value congruence into consideration.Originality/valueThis study introduces a new perspective on understanding creativity in the workplace. First, it contributes to work on the consequences of P-O value congruency by exploring how supplementary fit influences employee creativity. Second, it contributes to creativity research by proposing a P-O supplementary fit argument to explain the actor-context interactionist model of creativity.