Mentoring support and protégé creativity: examining the moderating roles of job dissatisfaction and Chinese traditionality.

This study examines the relationship between mentoring support and protégé creativity in ongoing mentoring relationships. Protégés' job dissatisfaction and Chinese traditionality are identified as conditions under which the positive mentoring‐creativity relationship can be intensified in Chinese cultural settings. Based on data collected from 301 mentoring pairs, we found that mentoring support positively related to protégé creativity. Consistent with our predictions, protégé job dissatisfaction and Chinese traditionality both strengthened the positive relationship between mentoring support and protégé creativity. Furthermore, the positive relationship was strongest for protégés reporting high levels of dissatisfaction and Chinese traditionality. Implications for mentoring and protégé creativity are discussed. Key points: Mentoring support was positively related to protégé creative behavior.The positive relationship between mentoring support and protégé creative behavior was stronger among high Chinese traditionality protégés than low Chinese traditionality protégés.The positive relationship between mentoring support and protégé creative behavior was stronger among protégés reporting high job dissatisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]