The increasingly aggressive globalized corporate context pushes companies to demand more competitive, innovative and creative results that ultimately relies on management guidance and employees’ performance. The scholars researching this phenomenon have focused on observing the dynamics of the dyadic interactions between supervisors and employees. This dyadic approach is therefore a very useful tactic to determine what the conditions that foster creativity in employees are. The present study explored the appropriate settings that will allow the nurturing of employees’ creative outcomes. The available academic literature states that some of the conditions that must be examined are: a) the personality matches of the underlying supervisor and employee, b) the mediating effect of the presence (or absence of) Self-Efficacy in the employee and c) the moderating effect of the leader-member exchange (LMX) quality. Scrutinizing these conditions will give managers and professionals in the field of Human Resources a further line of attack to adapt the surroundings and determine the appropriate pairings of leaders and followers that will increase the likelihood of the employees being able to produce creative outcomes. Other implications and future research suggestions are also discussed.

Abbott, D. H. (2010). Constructing a creative self-efficacy inventory: A mixed methods inquiry. Individual Motivation.
Amabile, T. (1996). Creativity in Context: Update to the Social Psychology of Creativity: Westview Press.
Amabile, T., & Kramer, S. (2011). The progress principle: Using small wins to ignite joy, engagement, and creativity at work: Harvard Business Review Press.
Amabile, T. M. (1983). The social psychology of creativity: A componential conceptualization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45(2), 357-376. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.45.2.357
Amabile, T. M. (1988). From individual creativity to organizational innovation. In K. G. G. Kaufmann (Ed.), Innovation: A cross-disciplinary perspective (pp. 139-166). Oslo 6, Norway: Norwegian University Press.
Amabile, T. M., & Khaire, M. (2008). Creativity and the role of the leader. Harvard Business Review, 86, 100-109.
Baer, M., Leenders, R. T. A. J., Oldham, G. R., & Vadera, A. K. (2010). Win or lose the battle for creativity: The power and perils of intergroup competition. Academy of Management Journal, 53(4), 827-845. doi: 10.5465/AMJ.2010.52814611
Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37(2), 122.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, US: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY, US: W H Freeman/Times Books/ Henry Holt & Co.
Bandura, A., & Locke, E. A. (2003). Negative self-efficacy and goal effects revisited. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(1), 87-99. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.88.1.87
Barrick, M., & Mount, M. (1991). The big five personality dimensions and job performance: a meta‐analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44(1), 1-26.
Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (2005). Yes, personality matters: Moving on to more important matters. Human Performance, 18(4), 359-372. doi: 10.1207/s15327043hup1804_3
Bauer, T. N., & Green, S. G. (1996). Development of leader-member exchange: A longitudinal test. Academy of management journal, 39(6), 1538-1567.
Benson, G. S., & Pattie, M. (2009). The comparative roles of home and host supervisors in the expatriate experience. Human Resource Management, 48(1), 49-68.
ČErne, M., Nerstad, C. G. L., Dysvik, A., & ŠKerlavaj, M. (2014). What goes around comes around: Knowledge hiding, perceived motivational climate, and creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 57(1), 172-192. doi: 10.5465/amj.2012.0122
Chen, G., Gully, S. M., & Eden, D. (2001). Validation of a new general self-efficacy scale. Organizational Research Methods, 4(1), 62-83.
Chua, R. Y. J., Roth, Y., & Lemoine, J.-F. (2015). The impact of culture on creativity: How cultural tightness and cultural distance affect global innovation crowdsourcing work. Administrative Science Quarterly, 60(2), 189-227. doi: 10.1177/0001839214563595
Chuang, A., Hsu, R. S., Wang, A.-C., & Judge, T. A. (2015). Does West “Fit” with East? In search of a Chinese model of Person–Environment fit. Academy of Management Journal, 58(2), 480-510. doi: 10.5465/amj.2012.1076
Coleman, J., Katz, E., & Menzel, H. (1977). The diffusion of an innovation among physicians. New York: Academic Press.
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Four ways five factors are basic. Personality and Individual Differences, 13(6), 653-665.
De Stobbeleir, K. E., Ashford, S. J., & Buyens, D. (2011). Self-regulation of creativity at work: The role of feedback-seeking behavior in creative performance. Academy of Management Journal, 54(4), 811-831.
Deci, E. L. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in Human Behavior. New York: Plenum Press.
Digman, J. M. (1990). Personality structure: Emergence of the five-factor model. Annual Review of Psychology, 41(1), 417.
Diliello, T. C., Houghton, J. D., & Dawley, D. (2011). Narrowing the creativity gap: The moderating effects of perceived support for creativity. Journal of Psychology, 145(3), 151-172. doi: 10.1080/00223980.2010.548412
Eden, D. (1992). Leadership and expectations: Pygmalion effects and other self-fulfilling prophecies in organizations. The Leadership Quarterly, 3(4), 271-305. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/1048-9843(92)90018-B
Erdheim, J., Wang, M., & Zickar, M. J. (2006). Linking the Big Five personality constructs to organizational commitment. Personality and Individual Differences, 41(5), 959-970. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.04.005
Erdogan, B., Kraimer, M. L., & Liden, R. C. (2002). Person-Organization Fit And Work Attitudes: The Moderating Role Of Leader-Member Exchange. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2002(1), F1-F6. doi: 10.5465/apbpp.2002.7517561
Farmer, S. M., Tierney, P., & Kung-Mcintyre, K. (2003). Employee Creativity in Taiwan: An Application of Role Identity Theory. Academy of Management Journal, 46(5), 618-630. doi: 10.2307/30040653
Farr, J. L., & Ford, C. M. (1990). Individual innovation.
Feist, G. J. (1998). A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity. Personality & Social Psychology Review (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), 2(4), 290.
Ford, C. M. (1996). A theory of Individual Creative Action in multiple social domains. Academy of Management Review, 21(4), 1112-1142. doi: 10.5465/amr.1996.9704071865
George, J. M., & Zhou, J. (2007). Dual tuning in a supportive context: Joint contributions of positive mood, negative mood, and supervisory behaviors to employee creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 50(3), 605-622.
Gist, M. E., & Mitchell, T. R. (1992). Self-efficacy: A theoretical analysis of its determinants and malleability. Academy of Management review, 17(2), 183-211.
Goldberg, L. R. (1993). The structure of phenotypic personality traits. American Psychologist, 48(1), 26-34. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.48.1.26
Goncalo, J. A., Chatman, J. A., Duguid, M. M., & Kennedy, J. A. (2015). Creativity from Constraint? How the political correctness norm influences creativity in mixed-sex work groups. Administrative Science Quarterly, 60(1), 1-30. doi: 10.1177/0001839214563975
Gong, Y., Huang, J.-C., & Farh, J.-L. (2009). Employee Learning Orientation, Transformational Leadership, And Employee Creativity: The mediating role of employee creative self-efficacy. Academy of Management Journal, 52(4), 765-778. doi: 10.5465/AMJ.2009.43670890
Gong, Y., Kim, T.-Y., Lee, D.-R., & Zhu, J. (2013). A multilevel model of team goal orientation, information exchange, and creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 56(3), 827-851.
Graen, G. B., & Uhl-Bien, M. (1995). Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. The Leadership Quarterly, 6(2), 219-247. doi: 10.1016/1048-9843(95)90036-5
Grant, A. M., & Berry, J. W. (2011). The necessity of others is the mother of invention: Intrinsic and prosocial motivations, perspective taking, and creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 54(1), 73-96. doi: 10.5465/AMJ.2011.59215085
Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5(9), 444-454. doi: 10.1037/h0063487
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., & Babin, B. J. (2010). Multivariate data analysis: A global perspective: Pearson Education.
Harrison, D. A., Price, K. H., Gavin, J. H., & Florey, A. T. (2002). Time, Teams, and Task Performance: Changing Effects of Surface- and Deep-Level Diversity on Group Functioning. Academy of Management Journal, 45(5), 1029-1045. doi: 10.2307/3069328
Haslberger, A., Brewster, C., & Hippler, T. (2013). The Dimensions of Expatriate Adjustment. Human Resource Management, 52(3), 333-351. doi: 10.1002/hrm.21531
Hirst, G., Van Knippenberg, D., & Zhou, J. (2009). A Cross-Level Perspective On Employee Creativity: Goal Orientation, Team Learning Behavior, And Individual Creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 52(2), 280-293. doi: 10.5465/AMJ.2009.37308035
Homan, A. C., Buengeler, C., van Ginkel, W. P., Eckhoff, R. A., & Voelpel, S. C. (2015). The Interplay of Diversity Training and Diversity Beliefs on Team Creativity in Nationality Diverse Teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(5), 1456-1467. doi: 10.1037/ap10000013
Hsing, Y.-t. (2003). [Social Connections in China: Institutions, Culture, and the Changing Nature of Guanxi, Thomas Gold, Doug Guthrie, David Wank]. The China Quarterly(176), 1093-1095.
Jaussi, K. S., & Dionne, S. D. (2003). Leading for creativity: The role of unconventional leader behavior. Leadership Quarterly, 14(4/5), 475. doi: 10.1016/S1048-9843(03)00048-1
Jia, L., Shaw, J. D., Tsui, A. S., & Park, T.-Y. (2014). A social–structural perspective on employee–organization relationships and team creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 57(3), 869-891.
Jiang, J., Wang, S., & Zhao, S. (2012). Does HRM facilitate employee creativity and organizational innovation? A study of Chinese firms. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(19), 4025-4047. doi: 10.1080/09585192.2012.690567
Judge, T. A., & Zapata, C. P. (2015). The Person--Situation Debate Revisited: Effect Of Situation Strength And Trait Activation On The Validity Of The Big Five Personality Traits In Predicting Job Performance. Academy of Management Journal, 58(4), 1149-1179. doi: 10.5465/amj.2010.0837
Karwowski, M. (2011). It doesn't hurt to ask…But sometimes it hurts to believe: Polish students' creative self-efficacy and its predictors. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 5(2), 154-164. doi: 10.1037/a0021427
Lang, J. C., & Lee, C. H. (2010). Workplace humor and organizational creativity. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(1), 46-60. doi: 10.1080/09585190903466855
Li, L., Li, G., Shang, Y., & Xi, Y. (2015). When does perceived leader regulatory-focused modeling lead to subordinate creativity? The moderating role of job complexity. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(22), 2872-2887. doi: 10.1080/09585192.2015.1021826
Liangding, J. I. A., Shaw, J. D., Tsui, A. S., & Tae-Youn, P. (2014). A Social–Structural Perspective On Employee–Organization Relationships And Team Creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 57(3), 869-891. doi: 10.5465/amj.2011.0147
Liao, H., Chuang, A., & Joshi, A. (2008). Perceived deep-level dissimilarity: Personality antecedents and impact on overall job attitude, helping, work withdrawal, and turnover. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 106(2), 106-124.
Liao, H., Liu, D., & Loi, R. (2010). Looking At Both Sides Of The Social Exchange Coin: A Social Cognitive Perspective On The Joint Effects Of Relationship Quality And Differentiation On Creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 53(5), 1090-1109. doi: 10.5465/AMJ.2010.54533207
Liden, R. C., & Maslyn, J. M. (1998). Multidimensionafity of Leader-Member Exchange: An Empirical Assessment through Scale Development. Journal of Management, 24(1), 43-72. doi: 10.1177/014920639802400105
Livingstone, L. P., & Nelson, D. L. (1994). Toward A Person-Environment Fit Perspective Of Creativity: The Model Of Creativity Fit. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Proceedings.
Madjar, N., Oldham, G. R., & Pratt, M. G. (2002). There's No Place like Home? The Contributions of Work and Nonwork Creativity Support to Employees' Creative Performance. Academy of Management Journal, 45(4), 757-767. doi: 10.2307/3069309
Mathisen, G. E. (2011). Organizational Antecedents of Creative Self-Efficacy. Creativity & Innovation Management, 20(3), 185-195. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8691.2011.00606.x
McCrae, R. R. (1996). Social consequences of experiential openness. Psychological Bulletin, 120(3), 323-337. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.120.3.323
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1990). Personality in Adulthood: Guilford Press.
McCrae, R. R., & John, O. P. (1992). An Introduction to the Five-Factor Model and Its Applications. Journal of Personality, 60(2), 175-215. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1992.tb00970.x
Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1991). A Three-Component Conceptualization Of Organizational Commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1(1), 61.
Meyer, J. P., Hecht, T. D., Gill, H., & Toplonytsky, L. (2010). Person–organization (culture) fit and employee commitment under conditions of organizational change: A longitudinal study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76(3), 458-473. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.01.001
Morley, M. J. (2007). Person-organization fit. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(2), 109-117. doi: 10.1108/02683940710726375
Murphy, S. E., & Ensher, E. A. (1999). The Effects of Leader and Subordinate Characteristics in the Development of Leader-Member Exchange Quality. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29(7), 1371-1394.
Nijstad, B. A., & De Dreu, C. K. W. (2002). Creativity and Group Innovation. Applied Psychology, 51(3), 400-406. doi: 10.1111/1464-0597.00984
Nolan, E. M., & Morley, M. J. (2014). A test of the relationship between person–environment fit and cross-cultural adjustment among self-initiated expatriates. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(11), 1631-1649. doi: 10.1080/09585192.2013.845240
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). Creating Knowledge in Practice (pp. 95-123).
Oldham, G. R., & Cummings, A. (1996). Employee Creativity: Personal And Contextual Factors At Work. Academy of Management Journal, 39(3), 607-634. doi: 10.2307/256657
Parke, M. R., Myeong-Gu, S., & Sherf, E. N. (2015). Regulating and Facilitating: The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Maintaining and Using Positive Affect for Creativity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(3), 917-934. doi: 10.1037/a0038452
Perry-Smith, J. E. (2006). Social Yet Creative: The Role Of Social Relationships In Facilitating Individual Creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 49(1), 85-101. doi: 10.5465/amj.2006.20785503
Puente-Díaz, R. (2016). Creative Self-Efficacy: An Exploration of Its Antecedents, Consequences, and Applied Implications. Journal of Psychology, 150(2), 173-193. doi: 10.1080/00223980.2015.1051498
Reinert, H., & Reinert, E. S. (2006). Creative Destruction in Economics: Nietzsche, Sombart, Schumpeter. In J. G. Backhaus & W. Drechsler (Eds.), Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900): Economy and Society (pp. 55-85). Boston, MA: Springer US.
Rogers, E. M. (1983). Diffusion of innovations. New York: Free Press.
Schumpeter, J. A. (1976). Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy: Routledge.
Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (1994). Determinants of Innovative Behavior: A Path Model of Individual Innovation in the Workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 580-607. doi: 10.2307/256701
Seers, A. (1989). Team-member exchange quality: A new construct for role-making research. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 43(1), 118-135.
Shalley, C. (2008). Creating roles: What managers can do to establish expectations for creative performance. Handbook of organizational creativity, 147-164.
Shalley, C. E. (1991). Effects of productivity goals, creativity goals, and personal discretion on individual creativity. Journal of Applied psychology, 76(2), 179.
Shalley, C. E., & Gilson, L. L. (2004). What leaders need to know: A review of social and contextual factors that can foster or hinder creativity. Leadership Quarterly, 15(1), 33. doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2003.12.004
Shin, S. J., & Jing, Z. (2007). When Is Educational Specialization Heterogeneity Related to Creativity in Research and Development Teams? Transformational Leadership as a Moderator. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1709-1721.
Siltala, R. (2010). Innovativity and cooperative learning in business life and teaching: University Of Turku.
Song, L. J., Tsui, A. S., & Law, K. S. (2008). Unpacking employee responses to organizational exchange mechanisms: The role of social and economic exchange perceptions. Journal of Management(0).
Spector, P. E. (1992). Summated rating scale construction: An introduction: Sage.
Stajkovic, A. D., & Luthans, F. (1998). Self-efficacy and work-related performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin, 124(2), 240.
Taggar, S. (2002). Individual Creativity and Group Ability to Utilize Individual Creative Resources: A Multilevel Model. Academy of Management Journal, 45(2), 315-330. doi: 10.2307/3069349
Taylor, C. W. (1964). Creativity: Progress and potential. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Thompson, E. R. (2008). Development and Validation of an International English Big-Five Mini-Markers. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(6), 542-548. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.06.013
Tierney, P., & Farmer, S. M. (2002). Creative Self-Efficacy: Its Potential Antecedents and Relationship to Creative Performance. The Academy of Management Journal, 45(6), 1137-1148.
Tierney, P., & Farmer, S. M. (2011). Creative Self-Efficacy Development and Creative Performance Over Time. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(2), 277-293. doi: 10.10371/a0020952
Tierney, P., Farmer, S. M., & Graen, G. B. (1999). An examination of leadership and employee creativity: The relevance of traits and relationships. Personnel psychology, 52(3), 591-620.
Van Vianen, A. E. M. (2000). Person-Organization Fit: The Match Between Newcomers' And Recruiters' Preferences For Organizational Cultures. Personnel Psychology, 53(1), 113-149. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-6570.2000.tb00196.x
Venkataramani, V., Richter, A. W., & Clarke, R. (2014). Creative Benefits From Well-Connected Leaders: Leader Social Network Ties as Facilitators of Employee Radical Creativity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(5), 966-975. doi: 10.1037/a0037088
Zhang, Z., Wang, M. O., & Shi, J. (2012). Leader-Follower Congruence In Proactive Personality And Work Outcomes: The Mediating Role Of Leader-Member Exchange. Academy of Management Journal, 55(1), 111-130. doi: 10.5465/amj.2009.0865
Zhou, J., & George, J. M. (2001). When Job Dissatisfaction Leads to Creativity: Encouraging the Expression of Voice. Academy of Management Journal, 44(4), 682-696. doi: 10.2307/3069410
Zhou, J., & Shalley, C. E. (2003). Research On Employee Creativity: A Critical Review And Directions For Future Research Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management (pp. 165-217)