This study aims to verify the relationship between organisational culture consent and job satisfaction among creative talents using data from China and to provide professionals with insights into the factors to be considered for shaping culture functions, improving job satisfaction and retaining creative talents of innovative organisations.Design/methodology/approach: Related theories of enterprise management are studied to form a logical theoretical system and explain the effect of organisational culture consent on job satisfaction for creative talents. Organisational culture consent is quantified and subsequently examined with job satisfaction based on the data from 2512 respondents who were a part of a survey conducted across 28 companies. The relationship is measured through correlation and regression analyses.Findings/results: The respondents were found to have a moderate level of job satisfaction. Clan organisation culture was dominant in both the present and preferred cultures for innovative and non-innovative companies; however, organisational culture consent was significantly related to job satisfaction only for creative talents and not for general workers.Practical implications: A clear and dynamic organisational culture needs to be created to boost creative employees' flexible aspirations. Diversity of employees should be taken into account to better formulate a reasonable compensation, promotion and motivation mechanism.Originality/value: This study addresses the research gap in the field of job satisfaction in China by providing a method to quantify organisational culture consent based on data collected by the Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument and to analyse its relationship with job satisfaction among creative talents.

This study proposes a sustainable innovation model for science and technology-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs) using grounded theory in the Chinese context. Five SMEs, referred to as ‘science and technology small giants’, were chosen as sampling cases to gather information for the grounding procedure to provide insights into successful science and technology-based SMEs. The model illustrates possible development paths for science and technology-based SMEs seeking to progress towards sustainable innovation and is potentially generalisable to SMEs in other industries, offering empirical insights to corresponding enterprises that seek innovative enhancement especially in developing countries. The results suggest that the innovation team, innovation principles, and an innovation base are indispensable elements to consider. Building teams with innovative human resources under the guidance of a clear system of principles can largely maximise the efficiency of creative talent and thus advance continuous innovation outcomes. An innovation base is also indispensable to reduce primary defects in initial investment, networking, supply chains, and market reputation.