This exploratory cross-cultural study examines the experiences of women in advertising creative departments in Spain and the United States. The study, an exploration of the creative environment and its impact on female creatives, is framed by Hofstede's dimensional model of national culture (Hofstede 2001; de Mooij & Hofstede 2010) and signalling theory (Spence 1974). Interviews with 35 top female creatives suggest that the challenges women face are rooted in the 'fraternity culture' or 'territorio de chicos' of creative departments in both countries. The data further suggest that the gender-bound cultural environment of advertising creative departments may be a global phenomenon, one that may adversely affect the creative process and impact women's upward mobility.

Business in general, and advertising in particular, recognise creativity as a crucial component of success and competitive advantage, but it has received little research attention in Public Relations (PR). This study seeks to address that neglect in relation to the understanding of how creativity is perceived and managed in PR consultancies. It involves a total of 23 interviews that included international PR creative directors as well as senior managers of PR consultancies operating in Spain. The initial findings suggest that creativity is considered a skill required by PR professionals, is seen as something valuable for clients, and is acknowledged in PR industry awards. Nevertheless, the article argues that some unhelpful myths and prejudices still exist around the area of creativity and that creative processes common elsewhere are not widely used in PR consultancies. It concludes by identifying elements that could encourage creativity within the sector.Key Words: public relations, creativity, consultancies, industry INTRODUCTIONOver the last 30 years, creativity has been considered a competitive advantage and a crucial element in business (Golen, 1983;Mumford, 2000;Florida, 2012), as well as a central component in the advertising sector (El-Murad & West, 2004). Even so, there has been very little scientific investigation focused on creativity in PR although authors in the PR literature cite it as part of the professional competence of a PR practitioner (see Wilcox et al., 2007, Gregory, 2008.The aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of how creativity is perceived and managed in PR consultancies, to discover the creative processes and techniques that do operate there, and to examine the role of the creative director. It concludes with proposals for further encouraging creativity within the sector. RESEARCH APPROACHES TO CREATIVITYDefining the concept of creativity is complex (Runco, 2007). Creativity simultaneously refers to a cognitive process and the result of this process (the product or creative idea), to an attribute of the individual, and also to an environment (Rhodes, 1961). Psychology has been one of the disciplines which has studied creativity in more depth with theories generated as early as the 19th century in the London School of Differential Psychology (1869) The concept of creativity has evolved throughout history (see Tatarkiewicz, 2002). Taylor (1959), for example, considered the process of creativity as consisting of a system that entails shaping or designing a stimulating environment in which problems could be transformed into productive solutions through facilitation. In contrast, Landau (1987) claimed that creativity resided in the capacity to discover connections -between previously unrelated experiences -which can, in turn, transform into new mental schemes generating ideas or novel products. The creative process has similarly been the subject of studies, with Wallas (1926) being one of the first to define its stages (preparation, incubation, illumination and v...

This exploratory paper analyzes the way in which context influences advertising creativity practices. To establish the role of context this paper utilized both Social Identity theory and Systems Model of Creativity. Twenty four in-depth interviews with top Creative Directors of the main advertising agencies in Colombia (Latin America) were performed to discover if there is a country Creative Identity. Data suggests there is an identity of sorts but this is still under construction. However, some facets of a Colombian creative identity and the way in which Directors´ perceive differences in creativity identity also emerged. A key contribution of the paper is to establish the influence of the broader Colombian social context on shaping the overarching creative identity including the unique business characteristics in the Colombian communications industry. These findings extend the Systems Model of Creativity to include social hardships (e.g., within the socio economic environment), and also incorporate industry level characteristics (e.g., a vast number of conservative and risk adverse clients). These factors contribute to a developing identity. These results when reflected on against the Systems Model of Creativity highlight several practical implications not only in relation to Colombia, but also the broader global advertising industry.

RESUMENEsta investigación estudia a las directoras creativas publicitarias en su rol de líderes. Se centra en su presencia en los departamentos creativos y no en las causas de su ausencia. Tras entrevistar a seis directoras creativas españolas que han conseguido llegar y mantenerse en ese departamento, se explica cómo estas comprenden, perciben y ejecutan su liderazgo, y cómo perciben que las valoran sus empleados. Los resultados muestran que ellas encajan en la definición del líder -vs. manager-que propone la literatura. Su liderazgo, puede enmarcarse en el estilo efectivo, creativo, transformacional y democrático que identifica al liderazgo ideal actualmente.Palabras clave: agencia de publicidad, creatividad, género, liderazgo, mujer. RESUMOEsta pesquisa estuda as diretoras criativas femininas e o seu papel como líde-res no ramo da publicidade. O estudo está focado na sua presença nos departamentos criativos e não nas causas de sua ausência. Seis diretoras criativas femininas espanholas, que chegaram ao topo e mantiveram a sua posição, foram entrevistadas. O artigo revela como elas compreendem, percebem e executam a sua liderança, e como percebem o valor que os seus empregados lhes dão. Os resultados mostram que estas mulheres se enquadram na definição de líder -vs. gestor -proposto pela literatura do campo. A sua liderança pode se identificar com o estilo efetivo, criativo, transformacional e democrático que identifica atualmente a liderança ideal.Palavras-chave: agência de publicidade, criatividade, género, liderança, mulher.

Esta investigación estudia los artículos publicados en Zer (Revista de Estudios de Comunicación) durante sus diez primeros años (1996-2005) para diagnosticar la contribución de autores y universidades a la publicación vasca. Se ha escogido esta revista por cuatro motivos: es la más valorada; es la que eligen más los investigadores para publicar sus últimos trabajos; está entre las tres revistas de mayor impacto en el ámbito de la Comunicación y, además, es una de las doce revistas académicas españolas de Comunicación que está presente en una base de datos internacional. Esta es la primera investigación que se lleva a cabo en España de productividad científica donde aparecen rankings de autores. Se examinan 220 artículos utilizando un análisis de contenido cuantitativo. El objetivo es conocer la productividad científica en base a los autores más productivos y a las universidades más productivas. El estudio establece un ranking tanto para autores como para universidades. Los hallazgos revelan que la producción es baja e indican que tres universidades producen más de la mitad de los artículos. Además, se observa que la colaboración entre universidades es escasa y la presencia internacional es discreta.