Effects of Personality Traits and Team Context on Individual Innovative Behavior (Exploitation and Exploration)

This study analyzed how personality traits, team context, and the interaction between the two affect individual exploitation and exploration. Analyses of data from two Korean firms revealed that personality traits have an effect on individual exploitation and exploration activities. Specifically, the authors found that those with high-level openness to experiences engaged in high-level exploration activities. By contrast, those with high-level conscientiousness pursued high-level exploitation activities. For individual exploitation and exploration activities, the team context perceived by individuals was also important. Furthermore, this study confirmed the effect of the interaction between personality traits and team context on individual exploitation and exploration activities.