Drawing on trait activation theory, the present study answered the question about who achieves better career development in innovative organizations in the Chinese context. We examined the relationships of Big Five personality traits on organizational career growth while considering the cross-level moderating effects of innovation climate and innovation climate strength. More specifically, we argued that conscientiousness and openness to experience would be more strongly related to organizational career growth at the higher level of innovation climate, and the linkages between all Big Five personality traits and career growth are stronger when innovation climate strength is weaker. Data from 2,415 employees randomly selected from 280 institutions in China support most of the hypotheses. We discussed the theoretical and practical implications as well as the limitations and suggestions for future studies.
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