Creativity - Answers• A mental process that results in the creation of new/novel ideas that have
value
• One of the most important factors in establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage
• Key building block for innovation
Innovation - Answers• An outcome of the creative process and involves identifying and
implementing a new idea (product, process, or service)
• Creativity + Exploitation
• The basis on which an entrepreneurial business is built, but the act of entrepreneurship is only
one way of bringing it to the marketplace
2 Conflicting Views Regarding the Origins of Creativity - Answers• Genius View
• Behaviorist View
Genius View - Answers[2 Conflicting Views Regarding the Origins of Creativity]
• Proposes that creativity is the domain of geniuses, such as Leonardo da Vinci or Einstein
• Largely a product of genetics
• Essentially ignores environmental influences
• Organizations that focus only on trapping this kind of creativity are ignoring the significant
imaginative thought/potential that is present in all people
Behaviorist View - Answers[2 Conflicting Views Regarding the Origins of Creativity]
• Proposes that creativity is "the universal heritage of every human being," and like any skill, it
can be developed
• Creativity is the domain of all people rather than being possessed by the lone genius
• All people have the potential to contribute to creative concepts if provided with the correct
environment and training
Traits that Contribute to Creative Capacity - Answers• Intelligent people and those with high
openness to experience (Big 5) are more likely to be creative [Individual Differences]
• Active imagination
,• Aesthetic sensitivity
• Attentiveness to inner feelings
• Preference for change and variety
• Intellectually curious
• Willingness to adopt novel and unconventional ways of thinking and behaving
• Liberal in values
• Independence
• Self confidence
• Risk taking
• An internal locus of control
• Tolerance for ambiguity
• A low need for structure
• Perseverance
• Exposure to a variety of different cultures
Three Components of Creativity - Answers• Expertise
• Motivation
• Creative Thinking Skills
Expertise - Answers[Three Components of Creativity]
• Knowledge - technical, procedural, and intellectual
Motivation - Answers[Three Components of Creativity]
• Not all equal
• An inner passion to solve the problem at hand leads to solutions far more creative than do
external awards, such as money
Creative Thinking Skills - Answers[Three Components of Creativity]
• Determine how flexible and imaginatively people approach problems
Organizational Creativity - Answers• Not all creativity is desirable
, • Only ideas that are appropriate to the organizational context and are "useful and actionable"
are desirable because it is these creative concepts that can improve organizational products,
processes, and services
• Determinants:
o Organizational Climate
o Leadership Style
o Organizational Culture
o Available Resources and Skills
o Organizational Structure and Systems
Environmental Stimulants that Foster Creativity - Answers• The flow of ideas
• Fair and constructive judgment of ideas
• Rewards and recognition for creative work
• Sufficient financial, material, and information resources
• Freedom to decide what work is to be done and how to do it
• A supervisor who communicates effectively, shows confidence in others, and supports the
work group
• Work group members who support and trust each other
Teams and Characteristics of Creative Teams - Answers• Groups of individuals where "talent,
energy, and skill are integrated into a team, and this collective capacity to innovate becomes
greater than the sum of individual contributions"
• Bring a greater sum of competencies, insights, and energy to the effort
2 Primary Traits Associated with Divergent Thinking - Answers• Openness to experience
o Found to be the strongest personality correlate since previous studies have suggested that
openness can be interpreted as a proxy of creativity
• Extroversion
o Enthusiastic, sociable, talkative, assertive, and excitable
o Tend to be energized when around other people, they are prone to boredom when they are by
themselves