Abstract: Most previous research has revealed the positive relation between team communication and employees’ innovative behavior, as well as the negative relation between job insecurity climate and employees’ innovative behavior. However, in previous studies, no clear conclusions have been made on the relationship among team communication, job insecurity climate and employees’ innovative behavior. Practice has proves that complete positive context or complete negative context would not help inspiring employees’ innovative behavior. In addition, an important amount of literature about job insecurity and its consequences has been developed during the past few decades (Sverke, Hellegren, & Näswall, 2002), but most of this research has focused on an individual-analysis perspective, without taking into account social context. Although job insecurity climate has not been empirically examined, several authors have implicitly assumed that job insecurity contexts exist in some organizations where layoffs have occurred. The current study aims to examine a conceptual model on the role of team communication and job insecurity climate in Chinese employees’ innovative behavior. Based on the person-situation interaction theory, it is hypothesized that there is a reversed U shape relation between team communication, job insecurity climate and employees’ innovative behavior. Consistent with self-efficacy theory, it is proposed that creative self-efficacy may moderate the relationship among team communication, job insecurity climate and innovative behavior. In addition, the current study also aims to validate the concept of job insecurity climate at the team level. The research sample consists of 75 teams from 13 large companies in China, with 334 employees in total. The questionnaire for employee included creative self-efficacy, and innovative behavior. The questionnaire for team included team communication and job insecurity climate. Creative self-efficacy and innovative behavior were rated by employees, while team communication and job insecurity climate were rated by employees and their immediate supervisors. Theoretical hypotheses were tested by hierarchical linear modeling and structural equation modeling. As the result showed, team communication and job insecurity climate had reversed U shape impact on innovative behavior, and creative self-efficacy had positive effect on innovative behavior. In addition, creative self-efficacy moderated these relationships among team communication, job insecurity climate and innovative behavior such that the effect of job insecurity was stronger for employees with low creative self-efficacy. At last, job insecurity climate is shown as a contextual variable that may act as a contextual stressor, The present study demonstrated that, high team communication level was not always beneficial for employees’ innovative behavior, and its effect on innovative behavior was moderated by the employees’ creative self-efficacy, low job insecurity climate level was not always help inspiring employees’ innovative behavior, and the effect of job insecurity climate was moderated by employees’ creative self-efficacy. In application, it is suggested that, moderate negative stimulation benefits to inspire the motivation and interests of innovation, adding to their enthusiasm; and it should be worth trying for managers to train employees’ creative self-efficacy. Moreover, job insecurity climate adds, under certain circumstances, detrimental effects to those produced by job insecurity on employees’ attitudes. Thus, organizations must take care of their climate and facilitate supportive climates for employees’ innovative behavior.

Key words: team communication, job insecurity, job insecurity climate, creative self-efficacy, innovative behavior