Linking leader–follower proactive personality congruence to creativity
ISSN: 0048-3486
Article publication date: 22 November 2018
Issue publication date: 7 March 2019
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing from the literature on person–environment fit and proactive personality, the purpose of this paper is to empirically examine whether congruence between the proactive personality of a leader and his/her follower is facilitative/inhibitive of creativity of the follower.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected in two waves from 355 followers and 36 corresponding leaders working in a large manufacturing company in India. Hypotheses were tested using polynomial regression analysis and response surface method.
Findings
The results indicate that leader–follower congruence in proactive personality is more likely to encourage followers’ creativity. Moreover, leader–follower congruence at higher levels of proactive personality showed higher levels of followers’ creativity than when dyads are congruent at lower levels.
Practical implications
Findings suggest that human resource management in organizations should consider matching leaders’ proactive personality with that of followers’ to foster employee creativity. This is critical from the perspective of recruitment and dyad formulation for jobs that demand creativity.
Originality/value
Research examining why and how congruence in personal characteristics between a leader and his/her follower foster followers’ creativity is at best scant. The study is a novel attempt to examine the effect of congruence in leader–follower proactive personalities on workplace creativity of the follower.
Keywords
Citation
Roopak, K., Mishra, S.K. and Sikarwar, E. (2019), "Linking leader–follower proactive personality congruence to creativity", Personnel Review, Vol. 48 No. 2, pp. 454-470. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-11-2017-0332
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited