“The Beauty Premium” – Lookism Climate in Organizations and Employee Creativity: The Roles of Social Sexual Behavior and Enjoyment of Sexualization

Drawing on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, the present research aims to examine the influence of the lookism climate in organizations on employee creativity. Further, this study examines the mediating role of social sexual behavior and the moderating role of employees' enjoyment of sexualization. Data were collected from employees working in China's multinational enterprises (MNEs) (i.e., IT and manufacturing). Study 1 demonstrates that a positive lookism climate in organizations is associated with increased employee creativity, mediated by social sexual behavior. Study 2 confirms Study 1 findings and shows that employees' enjoyment of sexualization strengthens the mediated relationship between the lookism climate in organizations and employee creativity via social sexual behavior.