Stimulating creativity through managerial intervention

Abstract

By linking creativity enhancement constructs to motivation theory, this paper theorizes how research managers, by virtue of their relationship with research personnel, may engage in behaviour which stimulates creative effort. Proposed is that the stimulation of creativity results from a basic scientist experiencing self‐actualization needs. Self‐actualization becomes prepotent in part as a result of the research manager's effort to satisfy lower level and higher level needs of scientists. Research managers may help satisfy such needs by virtue of their linking pin function, by engaging in goal setting and task definition, and by acquiring needed resources. The specific needs of basic scientists are specified based on the characteristics of basic scientists; two are predominant:— 1. The scientist is a professional, exhibiting many of the characteristics of professionals. 2. The scientist is a creative individual who, when sufficiently motivated produces novel ideas, combines old ideas in a novel way, or applies knowledge of one field to another. By satisfying the particular needs aroused by professional norms and creative ability, the research manager hence may help satisfy the needs of basic scientists. Appropriate managerial behaviours are linked to creativity enhancement in a model depicting the mechanisms whereby scientists are so motivated. Hypotheses are proposed as a basis for future research in testing the model.

Systematic Design Methods and the Creative Performance of New Product Teams: Do They Contradict or Complement Each Other?

“…However, literature also suggests various negative effects such as team‐member distraction and creativity blocking. Theories in the first category maintain that the presence of others can serve as a distraction and disrupt people's performance (Lovelace, 1986). Distraction can cause attentional overload, which leads to a restriction in cognitive focusing and may cause members to rely on cognitive shortcuts, such as heuristics and preexisting schemata, to avoid taxing their attentional capacity (Shalley, 1995).…”

University services for fostering creativity in high-technology firms

“…In times of economic crisis such as the present, businesses and experts point to creativity as a means of finding that extra edge that will see firms through the economic slump (Lovelace, 2007). Some authors even suggest that the economic depression may be a factor that drives the search for innovation as it stimulates the desire to reduce costs on the part of business owners (Cáceres & Aceytuno, 2008).…”

Rethinking invention: cognition and the economics of technological creativity

“…-an over-centralisation of decision-making, which can leave a creative individual without the freedom and/or information necessary to act (Lovelace 1986;Zaltman et al 1973);…”