<p>The effectiveness of leader-member exchange (LMX) on employee creativity has been the focus of attention in academia and industry, yet the questions of the mechanism and boundary conditions between the two have not yet been fully answered. Based on self-determination theory (SDT), this paper examines the mediating role of promotion focus and the moderating role of individual traditionality. A total of 323 responses were collected through the Credamo platform in China. The empirical results indicated that promotion focus mediated the positive relationship between LMX and employee creativity. Individual traditionality negatively moderates the positive relationship between LMX and promotion focus, as well as the mediating effect of promotion focus in the relationship between LMX and employee creativity. This study sheds light on the unique role of traditional Chinese cultural values, represented by individual traditionality, in the study of employee creativity.</p>