Creative role models, personality and performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discover whether there is an interaction between creative personality and a supportive work environment resulting in creative behaviours. Is a creative personality essential to creative performance? Design/methodology/approach – The data were from surveys completed by 133 employees in a pharmaceutical company and from supervisor evaluations. The data were analyzed using moderated multiple regression analyses. Findings – The results indicate that the presence of creative supervisors influences subordinate creativity when the subordinate's creativity‐relevant skills are minimal. On the other hand, there were not any significant relationships between the presence of creative co‐workers, creativity‐relevant personality facets and employee creativity. Research limitations/implications – One limitation is the assumption that supervisors are qualified to assess employees’ creative performance. In addition, the 16PF instrument was also used in personnel selection, which may lead to range restriction. Furthermore, the level of significance for the hypotheses was p ⩽0.10. Practical implications – The results are important for human resource practitioners and managers to use in the development of selection, training and development tools and programs for employees expected to engage in creative behaviour in the workplace. Originality/value – This paper furthers our understanding of the role of creative role models in the development of individuals deemed less creative based on personality.