The moderating effect of relationship conflict on the creative climate-innovation association: the case of traditional sectors in Spain

A good creative climate is considered one of the main capacities inherent in groups that establish innovation processes. Creative climate emerges from different forces interacting in a way that can be stimulated or inhibited. We identify six dimensions of creative climate. By analysing them jointly, we find that some are more relevant than others for the purposes of innovation. To test the model, we designed an empirical study based on a group of medium-sized firms in traditional sectors in Spain involved in non-high technology innovation. The results show that trust and support are the dimensions that favour innovation and that the dimension of relationship conflict has neither a positive nor a negative effect on innovation. Nevertheless, relationship conflict has a significant positive effect on the autonomy-innovation association and a significant negative effect on the commitment-innovation association. We find synergistic effects between apparently contradictory forces with implications for change and thus for organizational flexibility.