Individual creativity performance and the quality of interpersonal relationships

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the exchanges that employees maintain with their immediate superior and with their work group influence the creativity that they manifest. Design/methodology/approach – A study was carried out among employees of a firm from the automotive sector. On the basis of previous works, the authors first built reliable multi‐item scales for each variable included in the model; then, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to ascertain the causal effect of those exchanges upon creativity. Findings – The findings reveal that high‐quality exchanges between the employee and their work group and, to a lesser extent, their immediate superior, have a significant positive influence on their creative behavior. Practical implications – All this underlines the importance of the composition of work groups for achieving the team environment necessary for creative production. Originality/value – This paper provides new evidence about a still unexplored topic, trying to bridge the existing gap in the literature about the influence of leadership and group behavior on creativity.