Summary This study adopts self‐ and other‐centered approaches to explain how the two facets of conscientiousness (i.e., dutifulness and achievement striving) distinctly resolve knowledge sharing dilemmas among employees. It also explores how the critical social surroundings of employees (i.e., supervisor support and coworker support) neutralize or activate the effects of dutifulness and achievement striving on knowledge‐sharing behavior. Our analysis of the data collected from 150 employee–supervisor dyads corroborates that the other‐centered facet of conscientiousness (dutifulness) is positively related to knowledge‐sharing behavior, whereas the self‐centered facet (achievement striving) is negatively related to the same behavior. The analysis also affirms that the positive effect of dutifulness and the negative effect of achievement striving on knowledge sharing are strengthened when supervisor support is low and coworker support is high. This study offers theoretical and practical implications relevant to knowledge management in organizations, distinct roles of facet‐specific personalities toward knowledge sharing, and contrasting personality–situation interactions by situation strength and trait activation in shaping employee behavior.

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The dynamic nature of work underscores the necessity of reassessing the effect of job design by considering the role of employee proactive behaviour and distinct work contexts. This study identifies creativity as a critical proactive behaviour that differentially explains the effect of job complexity on task performance across varying levels of growth need strength (GNS), supervisor support for creativity (SSC), and task interdependence. Our analysis supports the mediating role of creativity in the relationship between job complexity and task performance. The tests of conditional indirect effects show that the moderating role of GNS is positive only when task interdependence is low. By contrast, SSC positively moderates the effect of job complexity only when task interdependence is high. These findings suggest the necessity of considering task interdependence in applying job design theory to explain the proactive behaviour and task performance of employees in emerging forms of work. Practitioner points This study shows that creativity explains how job complexity affects task performance. Growth need strength accentuates the effect of job complexity on employee creativity and performance only when task interdependence is low. Supervisor support for creativity positively moderates the effect of job complexity on employee creativity and performance only when task interdependence is high.

In job design and creativity literature, challenging and complex jobs drive individual creativity, whereas routinization impedes creative outcomes. This study challenges this prevailing view by exploring the intermediate psychological mechanism and boundary conditions enabling the potential benefits of routinization to foster creativity in organizations. Routinization economizes employees’ use of resources in performing tasks, thereby generating free cognitive resources that can be utilized for creative problem-solving. In addition, the effect of routinization on creativity, as mediated by free cognitive resources, is positively moderated by two boundary conditions: learning goal orientation of employees and supervisor support for creativity. Field data collected from 198 engineers and technicians and 56 supervisors working in manufacturing companies in South Korea confirm the moderated mediation hypotheses. The conditional indirect effects of routinization on creativity through free cognitive resources are significant and positive when the learning goal orientation of employees and supervisor support for creativity are high. These findings highlight the need for a balanced consideration of the ambivalent effects of task complexity and routinization on employee creativity along with further investigations on the contingencies of their effects.

Aims:  Studies of pigeon‐borne yeasts have tended to focus on species, such as Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans, with scant attention to feral pigeons in Korea. We studied the prevalence of yeasts from faecal samples of feral pigeons obtained in various public places in Seoul, Korea, and assessed their potential capacity as human pathogens. Methods and Results:  Three hundred and six pigeon faeces samples were collected at city squares and parks in 21 localities in Seoul and Seoul Grand Park and analysed for yeast with conventional methods. Of the 306 samples, 126 (41·2%) were positive for yeast. Seventeen species of yeast were identified. The most frequent species were Candida glabrata (34·1%), Candida famata (12·7%), Cryptococcus albidus (14·3%) and Cryptococcus laurentii (7·9%). The yeast isolates were tested for virulence. Of the 116 isolates (ten isolates missing), 70·7% (n = 82) grew at 37°C. All the Cryptococcus spp. isolates possessed a capsule, 16·4% (n = 19) produced melanin, and 33·6% (n = 39) produced proteinase. Two Ca. glabrata, a Ca. famata and Ca. albicans as well as three C. neoformans, a C. laurentii and Ca. albicans isolates had three virulence factors. Accordingly, 29·3% (n = 34) isolates possessed more than two virulence factors except capsule formation. Conclusions:  These results of this study indicate that feral pigeons harbour a variety of yeasts and are a reservoir of human pathogenic fungi. Significance and Impact of the Study:  This study is the first time about the microflora (fungi) presents in faecal samples collected from a variety of public areas throughout Seoul, Korea.