Putting Creativity to Work: The Implementation of Creative Ideas in Organizations

Abstract

The production of creative ideas does not necessarily imply their implementation. This study examines the possibility that the relation between creativity and implementation is regulated by individuals' motivation to put their ideas into practice and their ability to network, or, alternatively, the number of strong relationships they maintain. Using data from 216 employees and their supervisors, results indicated that individuals were able to improve the otherwise negative odds of their creative ideas being realized when they expected positive outcomes to be associated with their implementation efforts and when they were skilled networkers or had developed a set of strong "buy-in" relationships.

Microfoundations of Organizational Paradox: The Problem Is How We Think about the Problem

“…When lacking slack resources, employees have been found less likely to engage in creativity and implement novel approaches (Baer, 2012;Madjar et al, 2011). Yet other studies suggest that resource scarcity can have positive consequences.…”

“…Resources can include both internal resources, such as employees' psychological support, social advancement, intelligence, self-esteem, skills and motivation (Amabile et al, 1996;Baer, 2012;Madjar et al, 2011), as well as external resources, such as time and financial resources (Amabile, et al, 1996;Scott & Bruce, 1994). These external resources become increasingly scarce when workloads and pressures expand to meet tight deadlines while reducing costs.…”

Cooking under Fire: Managing Multilevel Tensions between Creativity and Innovation in Haute Cuisine

“…In a similar vein, Crossan and Apaydin (2010) note that, because most of the existing studies have focused on only one dimension of the organizational innovation, we are at risk of 'missing the large picture' of what organizational innovation entails and set as an important goal for future innovation studies the understanding of "the inherent tensions that exist between the various types of innovations and the underlying processes" (Crossan andApaydin 2010: 1179; see also Gruber et al 2015 for similar calls for a better understanding of tensions across innovation dimensions). The importance of understanding tensions between creativity and innovation (and, implicitly, of what we miss by overlooking these tensions) is aptly illustrated by Baer's (2012) analysis of the link between creativity and implementation. Baer (2012) proposes that creative ideas are risky and uncertain and that they are unlikely to become innovative products, unless the creative individuals engage in intensive interpersonal exchanges with other organizational members.…”

“…The importance of understanding tensions between creativity and innovation (and, implicitly, of what we miss by overlooking these tensions) is aptly illustrated by Baer's (2012) analysis of the link between creativity and implementation. Baer (2012) proposes that creative ideas are risky and uncertain and that they are unlikely to become innovative products, unless the creative individuals engage in intensive interpersonal exchanges with other organizational members. Baer's study shows therefore that whether creative ideas eventually become innovation depends on ways in which individuals solve specific tensions that appear across the two stages of the innovative process, in this particular case the tension between the demand for novelty in the idea creation stage and the demand for predictability that facilitates implementation (see also Chandy et al 2006 for evidence that a large number of novel ideas does not necessarily translate in high innovation performance).…”

“…For instance, creativity calls for high work autonomy , regardless whether the creative outcome is an artistic product or an original solution to a difficult problem. In turn, implementation requires the participation of many actors, as well as close and frequent interactions among them; it, therefore, calls for the creative individuals to engage in intensive interpersonal exchanges (Baer 2012;Fleming, Mingo, Chen 2007), thus sacrificing some of their autonomy (Elsbach and Hargadon 2006).…”