Identifying and Managing Creative Tasks in Collaborative IS Research Projects

Collaborative research projects require a high amount of creativity to create innovative results. Project management has to ensure that it recognizes and encourages creativity. This can be done successfully only if the nature of creative tasks is well understood. The current literature on creativity provides a well‐accepted model to characterize creativity. Based on a literature review and case study we transfer the findings into the context of collaborative information systems (IS) research projects and we evaluate their applicability. We derive specific criteria and characteristics for the identification of creative tasks, find a set of different task types, and provide implications directly usable by project managers.     

When and why does transformational leadership influence employee creativity? The roles of personal control and creative personality

This study develops and tests a model of the underlying mechanisms linking transformational leadership and employee creativity using a sample of 240 matched middle‐level manager and front‐line supervisor dyads from a large foreign joint‐venture company in China. We propose that personal control and employee creative personality serve as a unique psychological mechanism and an important boundary condition to simultaneously influence the relationship between transformational leadership and employee creativity. Results of moderated‐mediation analyses provided support for our conceptual model, showing that transformational leadership was positively related to personal control, which also had a positive impact on employee creativity. Furthermore, creative personality was found to moderate the relationship between transformational leadership and personal control, which in turn, mediated the joint effect on employee creativity. Findings of this study provide insights into the research on leadership development and work design in HRM, which can inform human resource managers to design effective strategies and systems that can increase employees' creativity.     

在体育教育中应如何培养学生的创造力和创造思维

通过对学校体育课程改革的调查、研究,探索创造力与体育教育之间的内在关系,提出培养学生的创造力和创造思维应是当代体育教育所追求的目标。     

实践型网络专业人才培养探索

根据网络专业课程的抽象,实践性较强以及富于创造性的特点,本文进行了一系列研究、改革与实践,对网络专业人才的培养工作采用以项目引领、任务驱动的思想改革教学方法,将网络实验室与虚拟现实技术相结合,应用在实践教学中,使学生具有就业能力、创业能力和自我发展能力。     

团队氛围对个体创造力与团队创造力的影响

本文基于前人相关研究成果,提出了团队氛围、个体创造力与团队创造力之间关系的理论假设,继而运用结构方程建模的方法对这些假设进行了检验。研究结果表明,团队氛围对个体创造力有显著影响,对团队创造力有间接影响,个体创造力与团队创造力正相关。     

Leader creativity expectations motivate employee creativity: a moderated mediation examination

This study presents a moderated mediation model of leader creativity expectations to investigate the effects of leader creativity expectations on employee creativity. Using matched data from 255 employees and their supervisors in the R&D center of an automotive company in China, we found that creative self-efficacy mediated the positive relationship between leader creativity expectations and employee creativity. By integrating social cognitive theory and the interactionist perspective, we further identified job involvement and job autonomy as personal and situational moderators in the relationship between leader creativity expectations and employee creative self-efficacy. As the level of job involvement and job autonomy rose, the relationship between leader creativity expectations and employee creative self-efficacy was stronger. Furthermore, we also found job involvement served as a moderator in the mediational chain for the path from leader creativity expectations to employee creativity via creative self-efficacy. We discuss the theoretical contributions and practical implications for human resource management.     

Work curiosity: A new lens for understanding employee creativity

Curiosity has long been recognized as the driving force behind individuals' exploratory drive, learning behavior, and willingness to embrace novelty. It is generally believed that the exploratory spirit of a curious mind can enhance the individual's imagination and cognitive capability for creative ideation. But there has been surprisingly little work to clarify the relationship between curiosity and creativity. Moreover, existing research commonly oversimplifies the operationalization of human curiosity. From a pluralist view of curiosity, this paper leverages insights from psychological research to explain how curiosity can be applied in the organizational context and help to better understand employee creativity. We draw upon several seminal theories on curiosity and motivation and explore the effects of organizational context and individual differences on employees' work curiosity. We furthermore elucidate how work curiosity leads to employee creativity by affecting the cognitive processes and psychological states. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Creativity and social alienation: the costs of being creative

Although creativity is a widely praised merit, the psychological costs that an employee may pay for being creative are less examined. The present study advances the research paradigm on the dark side of creativity by focusing on the negative psychological state (social alienation) of creative employees. By building on the studies on the homophily principle and on the cultural perspective of creativity, we investigated why creative employees are more likely to experience social alienation. Drawing on the social capital theory, we point out that social alienation of creative employees depends on their networking ability and harmony enhancement motive. A two-wave survey among 311 employees from 59 Chinese organizations supported the hypotheses. Implications of the findings are discussed for creativity and alienation literature as well as management practice.     

The effects of high-involvement work systems and shared leadership on team creativity: A multilevel investigation

Understanding how to effectively stimulate creative potential in the workplace through strategic human resource management (HRM) practices is critical to enhancing organizational competitiveness. This study investigates the effects of high-involvement work systems (HIWS) on team creativity in terms of ability–motivation–opportunity theory and a team input–process–output model. It draws on a data set consisting of 668 employees from 112 teams in 41 organizations in China. The results reveal that HIWS are positively related to team creativity, not only directly, but also indirectly through a sequential mediating mechanism of involvement climate and shared leadership. We argue that when employees are placed in an autonomous work environment underpinned by HIWS, they will be more likely to be involved in creative activities and engage in mutual influence behaviors in their work teams, and lead each other to achieve a higher level of creativity. Our study extends the knowledge on strategic HRM/HIWS, shared leadership, and creativity.     

The distinctiveness of the European tradition in entrepreneurship research

Several previous studies have investigated creativity as an enhancer of innovation, their results showing that there is a positive relationship between the organizational creative climate and innovation. However, no research has been conducted on whether there is a saturation point beyond which an increase in creativity makes innovation performance decrease. In this article, we question 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. We have developed a conceptual model to explain innovation performance considering creativity and network centrality, and it has been tested in the ceramic industrial cluster in Spain. Empirical findings support the inverted U-shaped relationship between creativity and innovation. The implications of these results in relation to creativity and innovation theory and practices are discussed.     

Personality and the creativity of frontline service employees: linear and curvilinear effects

Abstract

Previous studies have investigated the relationship between the Five-Factor model of personality and creativity. As this model has been criticised for providing a limited account of an individual’s personality, this study considers additional personality traits that have recently been investigated in the literature as determinants of employee behaviour. Moreover, we also contribute to the existing body of literature by conducting this study in a service setting, for which we predict personality traits will exert differentiated effects on creativity when compared to other settings. Finally, while past research has focused on linear effects, this study examines the existence of non-linear effects between personality and creativity. The results indicate that personality traits apart from the Five-Factor model have an impact on creativity and that the effects of several personality traits on the creativity of frontline service employees differ from those obtained in other settings. Lastly, the findings also show that five of the personality traits have non-linear effects on creativity, and this may be a stimulus for a new stream of research in the human resources literature.     

Using creativity to achieve an entrepreneurial future for arts marketing

• The marketing concept fails to explain marketing behaviour of small firms. Similar comments are now being made of large firms. This gap between theory and practice is even more significant in non-profit and arts organisations where sector specific philosophies often determine how marketing is embraced, with its underlying notions of the customer and profitability. Many of these organisations must overcome severe resource constraints by thinking creatively. This paper investigates the relationship between art, marketing, entrepreneurship and creativity in order to reach a clearer understanding of how creativity can assist both the arts organisation and those involved in researching the sector. There have been increasing calls within the academic marketing community to instil a creative philosophy within the research process. This call has not resulted in much research on the phenomenon within marketing, and certainly not from a nonprofit perspective. This paper discusses creativity as a concept drawing on a diverse range of literatures outside the management discipline. The link between creativity, marketing, entrepreneurship and art is analysed. Justification of the incorporation of creativity in the research process is presented for practitioners and theorists in marketing and the arts, so that they can learn from each others' disciplines. Implications for future research are presented, where creativity is viewed as the centre of a non-linear, free thinking understanding of artistic truth.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring creative entrepreneurs’ happiness: cognitive style,guanxi and creativity

Traditional economic theories generally assume that entrepreneurs’ satisfaction is largely affected by financial performance of their entrepreneurial business, while recent research suggests that entrepreneurs’ happiness is more important than financial success. Drawing upon the theories of entrepreneurial cognition and social networks, we develop a model to explore the factors influencing entrepreneurs’ happiness. A total of 270 creative entrepreneurs in Taiwan’s creative industries are studied. Results show that entrepreneurs’ creating cognitive style has a positive effect on both entrepreneurs’ creativity and firm creativity, but entrepreneurs’ planning cognitive style has a negative effect. Findings indicate that entrepreneurs with strong family ties and business ties have high level of individual creativity and firm creativity, which then have a positive influence on entrepreneurs’ happiness.     

悖论思维对创造力的“过犹不及”效应研究

悖论思维帮助个体发现对立事物间的联系,有利于创造性想法或创意的生成,但过高水平的悖论思维极易导致认知过载,使个体无暇顾及需要想象力和灵感的创造性活动。基于"过犹不及效应",本文提出悖论思维对员工创造力产生非线性影响。同时,根据能力-动机-机会(AMO)的理论框架,探索个人学习能力在这一关系中的中介作用,以及领导调节聚焦行为的调节作用。本文认为:悖论思维与员工创造力呈倒U型关系,个人学习能力在上述关系中起中介传导作用,领导促进型聚焦行为强化了变量间的间接关系,而领导防御型聚焦行为削弱了变量间的间接关系。通过对313名员工的三阶段调查分析,数据支持了本研究提出的假设。虽然适度的悖论思维有助于员工提升学习能力,但过度的悖论思维反而会降低员工学习效率进而削弱员工创造力,领导调节聚焦行为决定了员工是否能完成学习能力到创造力的转化。研究结论为员工创造力的影响因素研究提供了新思路,引导企业通过甄选员工和调整领导行为来激发员工创造力。     

Managing creativity,maintaining control: a study in pharmaceutical research

This paper examines how managers of scientific researchers in a major UK pharmaceutical company attempt to cope with the demands of generating creative research while exercising control over highly-qualified workers. The paper considers some models applicable to HRM in research before turning to research management at Glaxo Research and Development Ltd. Focusing on the management of working time and performance-related pay as control devices, and drawing on labour process perspectives, the authors examine the impact of these on the research process. As there is a high level of indeterminacy in research work, the operation of these controls by line managers is necessarily subjective. This may encourage behaviour which runs counter to the organisational goal of developing new chemical entities. It is suggested, in conclusion, that a fundamental tension between creativity and control characterises the management of commercial research, and is exacerbated by the dynamic nature of the firm's environment.     

Creativity,celebration and play at the Bauhaus,Berlin, 1920: lessons from history for contemporary marketers and arts organizations

• Organizations can be seen as rigid, rewarding conformity not creativity. Managing the creative team or individual can be challenging. This paper contributes to this special issue of the International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing by addressing ways to manage creativity in an organization, as well as to creatively market the organization. It presents a case study of an organization based in Germany in the 1920s, the Bauhaus. This art and craft organization achieved extraordinary creative output in just over a decade of operation, during the devastation of post World War I. This paper demonstrates how its leader managed the creativity of the staff and students and creatively marketed the organization despite a lack of funds and the desperate shortage of resources. The Bauhaus provides a key lesson for contemporary marketers and managers in developing the characteristics of organizations that nurture creativity and the creative individual.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrating job search behavior into the study of job seekers’ employer knowledge and organizational attraction

This paper reports on a study about the impact of job search behaviors and employer knowledge on organizational attraction during recruitment. A time-lagged study was conducted among job seekers from a Singaporean business school. Results indicated that preparatory job search (PJS) behaviors influenced organizational attraction through employer familiarity. PJS also moderated the effects of two-types of images – employer creativity and people focus – on organizational attraction. These findings imply that a recruitment strategy needs to consider PJS and the specific type of employer image when communicating employer-based information.     

浅谈数学教学中创造性思维能力的培养

我国学生的创造意识不强,创新能力不足,成为国内外有识之士的共识。文章从培养学生的思维品质、创造个性和改革教学手段等方面,论述了在数学教学中创造性思维能力的培养意义和培养的途径。     

The Ratatouille paradox. An inductive study of creativity in haute cuisine

Organization literature has extensively explored the crucial role of creativity in enabling organizations to survive in fast-paced environments. However, there are still substantial misunderstandings about the way in which creative processes unfold. In most studies, creativity has been analyzed using a compositional sequential model. Building on interpretive inductive research, conducted in the empirical field of Italian haute cuisine, this study develops a framework for the following creative processes, emerging within the field: improvisation, experimentation, trial-and-error, and imagination. The main difference between these processes is the relationship between four aggregate dimensions: process triggers, planning, the unfolding of creative phases, and trialing. This new framework offers a more comprehensive understanding of creativity as it is enacted, shedding light on its real potential in contemporary organizations.C: In every dish, Chef Gusteau always has something unexpected. I will show you. I memorized all his recipes.L: Always do something unexpected.C: No. Follow the recipe.L: But you just said that…C: No, no, no. It was his job to be unexpected. It is our job to… Follow the recipe. (“Ratatouille,” min. 43, Pixar, 2007)C: What are you doing? You are supposed to be preparing the Gusteau recipe.L: This is the recipe.C: The recipe does not call for white truffle oil! What else have you…? You are improvising? This is no time to experiment. The customers are waiting! (“Ratatouille,” min. 48, Pixar, 2007)     

CBE模式及其在焊接专业教学改革中的应用探索

在基于"能力本位"教育的CBE模式启发下,结合焊接专业自身特点,从教学内容、教学方法和教学模式等方面入手就该专业的教学改革作了些许分析和阐述,皆在培养出具有较强的实践能力和一定的科研能力且能够较快较好适应社会适应岗位的中高级焊接技术人才。在教学内容上,力求做到"必需"和"够用",并及时更新补充焊接领域的新知识,加强实践教学环节并将科研和教学有机结合,以培养学生的创新能力和创新意识。在教学方法上,重视学生个体性意识,突出学生主体性意识,转被动接受为主动探求,充分发挥学生学习的主观能动性。在教学模式上,以就业为导向,以职业岗位所需能力为出发点和核心,改革单一教学模式,建立校内校外实训基地,引入国际焊接工程师资格培训认证,有效提高学生的就业适应能力。