What is the nature and processes of creativity in small businesses? My fine-grained qualitative study of a small UK software business, GoTravel, suggests that such businesses often show tremendous creativity in the everyday processes they use to negotiate complex problems that their internal and external limitations induce. The empirical findings that I use to support this view are in three main parts. First, internal organisational problems, which seemed to restrict employee engagement in creative actions, provoked novel and appropriate — i.e. creative —actions by the small business in pursuing opportunities to access inputs they needed to build competitive software. Second, these actions entailed the tactical creation of fertile sites within collaborations held with product users in line with principles of agile software development, to enable activities relevant for accessing required inputs for building improved software. Third, within these sites, GoTravel advanced its creative actions by leading product users in ‘play’ activities with the purpose of accessing their inputs, which included their time, money, autonomy and actions, and ameliorating the disadvantaged position the small business occupied in the agile-inspired collaborations. To explicate my findings, I draw on the entrepreneurship literature, particularly work conducted to study processes that entrepreneurs use to orient themselves amid problems, while creating opportunities for establishing new ventures. Here, I focus specifically on spatial concepts Hjorth used to study how entrepreneurial processes unfold under constraining managerial orders, as well as insights from critical perspectives from the co-creation literature. I use these lenses to illuminate the tactical and creative actions that GoTravel manifested in the ways they reassigned ‘managerial orders’ in their software industry, which threatened their ability to access inputs from their product users into other uses — i.e. ‘spaces of play’. Here, they seemed to have ‘lured’ their product users into co-creation activities to accomplish goals for developing new products and, indeed, ‘conquer’ managerial orders in their external environments, even if temporarily. This study contributes to current research on organisational creativity by drawing attention to creativity inherent in the processes that small businesses use to negotiate problems they often confront in the journey to building novel and impactful solutions. In addition, I bring conceptual lenses from entrepreneurship, a field that is sympathetic to the characteristics of small businesses, particularly their constraints and limitations, to expand current knowledge we have of creativity by such businesses. My research also contributes to current valuable work on co-creation, especially in how organisations may use various forms of co-creation as a tactical and creative tool to address their own limitations.

Thesis (PhD (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 1996. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The development of small to medium enterprises (SME's) has various advantages for a country's economy, inter alia the creation of job opportunities. South African SME's are expected to realise these advantages, as set out in the national strategy for SME's. The turbulent national and international environment offers unique challenges to SME' s, but could also be the cause of them not meeting expectations. One possible way to secure dynamic behaviour of SME's in such a turbulent environment is to stimulate creativity. The question arises whether South African SME's are creative, and what can be done to promote their creativity. This study therefore focuses on two issues, namely creativity and SME' s. Creativity is discussed on the basis of existing theories and definitions. The primary aim of the discussion is to identify elements which can explain creativity in SME's. The following four elements are discussed: • characteristics of creative persons; • creative processes; • an environment which can support creativity; and • manifestations of creativity. The second issue under discussion framework of D'Amboise and Muldoney is SME's. An adapted (1984) was used as basis to discuss characteristics of 8ME owners, 8ME behaviour practices, and how 8ME's interact with the task environment. Conclusions regarding 8ME owners and 8ME behaviour patterns indicate that an entrepreneurial approach is conducive to creativity, and that 8ME's that interact dynamically with the environment tend to be creative. These conclusions are then integrated. Characteristics of 8ME owners, 8ME behaviour practices, creative processes, and manifestations of creativity are discussed. It was not possible to provide a list of manifestations, and therefore only an instrument for identification and classification is provided. Evaluation is subjective, which supports findings in the literature that objective evaluation is probably not possible. The integrated 8ME profile is an adapted conceptual model which serves as basis for the empirical research. This model suggests that there could be associations between characteristics of 8ME owners and 8ME behaviour practices, and manifestations of creativity. It was decided on a questionnaire for data collecting, because it is inter alia less expensive, and less time consuming for 8ME owners to complete. Questionnaires were forwarded to 3310 addresses, and 342 usable questionnaires were returned. Telephone inquiries confirmed that the low response could not be attributed to either the study or the questionnaire, but rather to factors unique to 8ME's, such as owners' limited time. After the descriptive statistics were reported, a stepwise logistic regression for binary dependant variables (creativity) and multiway analysis for categorical and ordinal explanatory variables were executed in an explorative way, in order to identify possible predictors of creativity. These predictors were then compared with the descriptive statistics to establish possible deficiencies. The most important deficiency is that the present profile of SME owners is not in equilibrium with predictors, and is therefore regarded as the most important reason why SME's are not creative. There is greater equilibrium between SME behaviour factors and predictors, but this is neutralised by non-creative SME owners. Internal (SME's) and external interventions which can create an environment conducive to creativity in SME's, are finally discussed. This approach can be visualised as an iceberg, which implies that manifestations of creativity are only perceptible if the imperceptible phase has a sound basis. This development approach is not an instant, but rather a long term process. If, however, deliberate efforts are not made to promote creativity in SME's, they will not be able to meet expectations, which could have serious consequences for the economy. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Dit word algemeen aanvaar dat die ontwikkeling van klein- en mediumgroot ondernemings (KMO's) verskeie voordele vir 'n land se ekonomie kan inhou, onder andere die skep van werksgeleenthede. In Suid-Afrika word dit van KMO's verwag om hierdie voordele te realiseer, soos in die nasionale strategie vir KMO's uiteengesit. Die omgewing, wat nasionaal en internasionaal turbulent is, bied egter unieke uitdagings aan KMO's, maar kan veroorsaak dat hulle nie aan verwagtinge kan voldoen nie. Een moontlike manier om dinamiese optredes van KMO's in so 'n omgewing te verseker, is stimulering van kreatiwiteit. Die vraag ontstaan of KMO's in Suid-Afrika kreatief is, en op watter aspekte klem gelê moet word om kreatiwiteit te bevorder. Hierdie studie het daarom twee fokuspunte, naamlik kreatiwiteit en KMO's. Kreatiwiteit is bespreek aan die hand van bestaande teoriee en definisies. Die primêre doel van die bespreking was om elemente te identifiseer wat kreatiwiteit in KMO's kan help verklaar. Die volgende vier elemente is bespreek: • eienskappe van 'n kreatiewe persoon; • kreatiewe prosesse; • 'n omgewing wat kreatiwiteit kan bevorder; • manifestasies van kreatiwiteit. KMO's was as tweede fokuspunt bespreek. 'n Aangepaste raamwerk van D'Amboise en Muldoney (1984) is as basis gebruik om eienskappe van KMO-eienaars, KMO-gedragspraktyke, en KMO's se interaksie met die taakomgewing te bespreek. Gevolgtrekkings oor KMO-eienaars en KMO-gedragspraktyke het daarop gedui dat 'n entrepreneuriese benadering bevorderlik is vir kreatiwiteit, en dat KMO's wat dinamies in interaksie is met hul taakomgewing is meer geneig tot kreatiwiteit. Gevolgtrekkings betreffende bogenoemde fokuspunte is daarna in 'n KMO-profiel geintegreer. Eienskappe van KMO-eienaars, KMO-gedragspraktyke, kreatiewe prosesse, en manifestasies van kreatiwiteit is bespreek. Ten opsigte van laasgenoemde was die voorsiening van 'n lys nie moontlik nie, en is slegs 'n instrument vir identifisering en klassifisering voorsien. Die beoordeling is subjektief, maar in die literatuur is aangedui dat objektiewe beoordeling waarskynlik nie moontlik is nie. Die geintegreerde KMO-profiel is omskep in 'n konseptuele model wat as basis dien vir 'n empiriese ondersoek. Hierdie model dui moontlike assosiasies tussen eienskappe van KMO-eienaars en -gedragspraktyke, en manifestasies van kreatiwiteit aan. Daar is besluit om die vraelysmetode te gebruik om data in te samel, omdat dit onder andere goedkoper sou wees, en tydsgewys meer prakties vir KMO-eienaars om in te vul. Vraelyste is na 3310 adresse gestuur, en 342 bruikbare vraelyste is teruggekry. Tydens die data-insamelingsproses is deur telefoniese navrae vasgestel dat die lae respons nie aan die studie of vraelys toeskryfbaar was nie, maar eerder aan faktore eie aan KMO's, soos KMO-eienaars se beperkte tyd. Nadat die beskrywende statistieke gerapporteer is, is stapsgewyse logistiese regressie vir binêre afhanklike veranderlikes (kreatiwiteit) en meerrigtingtabel-analise vir kategoriese en ordinale verklarende veranderlikes op 'n eksploratiewe wyse uitgevoer om moontlike voorspellers van kreatiwiteit te identifiseer. Hierdie voorspellers is daarna met die beskrywende statistieke vergelyk om moontlike leemtes te bepaal. Die belangrikste leemte is dat die huidige profiel van KMO-eienaars nie in ewewig is met voorspellers nie, en daarom as die belangrikste rede beskou word waarom KMO's nie kreatief is nie. Daar is 'n groter mate van ewewig tussen KMO-gedragsfaktore en voorspellers, maar dit word deur nie-kreatiewe KMO-eienaars geneutraliseer. Intervensies op interne (KMO's) en eksterne gebiede wat 'n positiewe omgewing kan skep vir kreatiwiteit in KMO's, is laastens bespreek. Hierdie benadering word as 'n ysberg gevisualiseer, wat impliseer dat manifestasies van kreatiwiteit slegs sigbaar is indien 'n gesonde basis in die onsigbare fase gelê is. Hierdie ontwikkeling kan egter nie eensklaps geskied nie, maar is eerder langtermyn van aard. Indien daar egter nie 'n daadwerklike poging aangewend word om kreatiwiteit in KMO's te bevorder nie, sal hulle nie aan die verwagtinge kan voldoen nie, wat nadelige gevolge vir die ekonomie inhou.