Theoretical framework, types, implications

1. CREATIVITY AND
INNOVATION
SRO007 - INDUSTRY, NETWORKING
AND INNOVATIVE CONTEXTS
Georgiana Alexandra Badoiu

2. INDEX
1. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.WHAT IS CREATIVITY?
2.THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK. WHAT IS INNOVATION?
3. LINKING CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION
4.CONCLUSIONS

3. 1.THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.
WHAT IS CREATIVITY?
Many definitions:
The generation of imaginative new ideas (Newell and Shaw
1972), involving a radical newness innovation or solution to a
problem, and a radical reformulation of problems.
A creative solution, either new or recombined, must have value
(Higgins 1999).
The production of novel and useful ideas (Amabile et al,
1996:1155).

4. Creativity can be considered:
A process of
 Presentation
 Preparation
 Brainstorming
 Validation of ideas
 Outcome assessment
A result of
 New, compared to the current ideas
 Useful, adds value

5. What is creativity?
Creativity “is a fundamental feature of human intelligence
in general. It is grounded in everyday capacities such as the
association of ideas, reminding, perception, analogical thinking,
searching a structured problem-space, and reflecting self-
criticism. It involves not only a cognitive dimension (the
generation of new ideas) but also motivation and emotion,
and is closely linked to cultural context and personality
factors.” (Boden 1998).

6. Types of creativity
According to Boden (1998), there are three main types of
creativity, involving different ways of generating the novel ideas:
a) The “combinational” creativity that involves new
combinations of familiar ideas.
b) The “exploratory” creativity that involves the generation of
new ideas by the exploration of structured concepts.
c) The “transformational” creativity that involves the
transformation of some dimension of the structure, so that new
structures can be generated.

7. Levels of creativity
Individual creativity
Group creativity
Organizational creativity

8. Individual creativity
• Studies focused on measuring creativity and trying to link it with
personality traits or cognitive traits.
• Other authors have focused on investigating what personality factors
(experience, attraction to complexity, high energy, autonomy, intuition, self-
confidence, and ability to resolve contradictions) can affect the performance.
• Others features : persistence, curiosity, energy and intellectual
honesty and great locus of control
• Intrinsec motivation and knowledge are also playing big role in
generating creativity.

9. Group creativity
•Group composition - diversity, up to a certain point, is
beneficial for the group.
•Group processes - democratic and collaborative leadership,
an organic structure, problem solving approaches and a solid
based social information.
•Group characteristics - good cohesive groups that have
worked together for a time, (if these factors are excessive,
creativity decrease).
•Contextual influences - e.g., organizational culture, reward
systems

10. Organizational creativity
3 models in organizational creativity
• Amabile model (1988) a firm innovates if it motivates employees,
provides resources and manages the work environment accordingly.
• Ekvall model (1996) based on a creative environment that has an
influence on the results of the company.
• Interactionist model Woodman et al. (1993) approaches creativity
as a phenomenon that is affected by situational and behavioural
factors; in particular, the model recognizes intraorganizational
influences that stimulate or inhibit organizational creativity.

11. 2. WHAT IS INNOVATION?
Many definitions:
• Latin word, innovare, to renew.
• Innovation as that which is newly introduced
• innovation =invention + exploitation
• innovation is the means used by companies to adapt, differentiate
and survive, especially in environments and turbulent times like the
present

12. What is innovation?
Innovation is the creation of new: products, techniques,
processes and services by generating and implementing
new ideas to make them useful.
(Damanpour, 1991;Van denVen, 1986).

13. Types of innovation
First classification was made by Schumpeter (1934)
According to OECD (2005), Oslo Manual there are four types of
innovations:
 Product / Service Innovation
 Process Innovation
 Marketing Innovation
 Organisational Innovation

14. Product / Service Innovation
• Is the introduction of a good or service that is new or significantly
improved with respect to its characteristics or intended uses.
• This includes significant improvements in technical specifications,
components and materials, incorporated software, user friendliness or
other functional characteristics.
• Product innovations can utilize new knowledge or technologies, or
can be based on new uses or combinations of existing knowledge
or technologies.

15. Process Innovation
• Is the implementation of a new or significantly improved production
or delivery method.
• This includes significant changes in techniques, equipment and/or
software.
• Process innovations can be intended to decrease unit costs of
production or delivery, to increase quality, or to produce or deliver
new or significantly improved products.

16. Marketing Innovation
• Is the implementation of a new marketing method involving significant
changes in product design or packaging, product placement,
product promotion or pricing.
• Marketing innovations are aimed at better addressing customer needs,
opening up new markets, or newly positioning a firm’s product on the
market, with the objective of increasing the firm’s sales.

17. Organisational
Innovation
• Is the implementation of a new organizational method in the firm’s
business practices, workplace organization or external relations.
• Organizational innovations can be intended to increase a firm’s
performance by reducing administrative costs or transaction costs,
improving workplace satisfaction (and thus labour productivity),
gaining access to non-tradable assets (such as non-codified
external knowledge) or reducing costs of supplies.

18. 3. LINKING CREATIVITY AND
INNOVATION

19. LINKING CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION
Source: Innovation and Creativity in Organizations: A State-of-the-Science Review, Prospective
Commentary, and Guiding Framework, Anderson and Potoč, Journal of Management, June 2014, page 72

20. Integrative definition
Creativity and innovation at work are the process, outcomes,
and products of attempts to develop and introduce new and
improved ways of doing things. The creativity stage of this process
refers to idea generation, and innovation to the subsequent stage of
implementing ideas toward better procedures, practices, or products.
Creativity and innovation can occur at the level of the individual,
work team, organization, or at more than one of these levels
combined, but will invariably result in identifiable benefits at one or
more of these levels-of analysis.
Anderson and Potoč (2014)

21. Creativity and the innovation process
Creativity is centered on idea generation and innovation
emphasizes idea implementation, creativity is often seen as
the first step of innovation (Amabile, 1996; Mumford &
Gustafson, 1988; West, 2002a, 2002b).

22. Source: MVA (2005) Medicon Valley Annual Report 2004.
Creativity is more involved with the product creation, while
innovation is more focused on analysing the market.

23. Models/ theories of creativity and
innovation
1. Componential Theory of Organizational Creativity and
Innovation
2. Interactionist Perspective of Organizational Creativity
3. Model of Individual Creative Action
4. Theorizing on Cultural Differences and Creativity
5. Four Factor Theory of Team Climate for Innovation
6. Ambidexterity Theory

24. The dark side of
creativity/innovation
Past studies reveal variously that innovation attempts can be
provoked by negative work role evaluations and moods
(Binnewies & Wörnlein, 2011; Bledow, Rosing, & Frese, 2013), that
experienced conflict may provoke innovation, that innovation is
perceived in-progress and in-situ as conflictual, and that its
outcomes may be both positive and negative in terms of team
cohesion and objective clarity (e.g., Chen, Liu, & Tjosvold, 2005).

25. The dark side of innovation
Del-Corte-Lora et all. (2014)
questioned the traditional positive
relationship between creativity and
innovation, and suggest that such a
relationship is not linear, but has
instead an inverted U-shape due to
a saturation effect. There is a
saturation point beyond which an
increase in creativity makes
innovation performance decrease.
Source: Own elaboration

26. 4.CONCLUSIONS
• Creativity and innovation are related constructs, they are by
no means identical.
• Enhancing creativity fosters innovation in firms (Amabile et
al.,1996)
• Creativity is a necessary prerequisite generation of
innovation as it involves cognitive generation of new ideas
that will later be implemented for innovation.

27. 4.CONCLUSIONS
• There are numerous studies that show the existence of a
positive relationship between creativity and innovation, but
we have to be aware to the point beyond which an increase
in creativity makes innovation performance decrease.
• The ability to create and innovate is what enables us to
impact, influence and change what’s around us and is
exactly what we need to be able to succeed.