Human resource management practices and organizational creativity: The role of chief executive officer's learning goal orientation

We examined the role of the chief executive officer’s (CEO) learning goal orientation in the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and organizational creativity in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME). With data from 64 Korean SME from different respondents (CEOs and HRM managers), we examined the congruence of messages between formality represented by knowledge-sharing HRM practices and informality symbolized by the CEO’s learning goal orientation in fostering organizational creativity. According to the analytical results, appraisal based on the extent of knowledge sharing enhanced organizational creativity when the CEO’s learning goal orientation was high by sending congruent messages but not by monetary reward systems to promote knowledge sharing. The results have important theoretical and practical implications for the fit between formality/informality and organizational creativity in SME.