Towards the end of the first decade of the 21st century the economic downturn increases the significance of creativity and innovation to business success. As the seed of innovation or fuel for the innovation engine creativity is important throughout the process in distinguishing successful innovations. However, many organisations struggle to transform the rhetoric of creativity and innovation into reality because of a lack of understanding of what this means or how to achieve this. Fragmentation of existing research leads to ambiguous evidence with a danger of spurious relationships or confounding of factors that is inadequate to advance theoretical understanding and inform practice. This investigation provides a number of valuable contributions to overcome such limitations through systemic analysis of individual, social and organisational factors that support creativity based on a research strategy of multiple case studies and employing quantitative and qualitative techniques. Empirical investigation employing both the KEYS assessment of creative climate and personality characteristics is rare. Findings reinforce the contribution for four of five factors deemed most important to supporting creativity together with the Openness to Experience personality dimension. The presentation of a general linear model explains 47% variance based on Organisational Encouragement, Challenging Work, Work Group Support, Organisational Impediments, and Openness to Experience. Alternative models suggest Openness to experience moderates the significance of climate factors. For individuals very high on this personality dimension the interaction of Challenging Work and Work Group Support contributes 60% variance in creativity. Qualitative investigation extends the variance contributed by the general linear models to include the significance of shared understanding and meaning, the need for continuous active stimulation and supportive mechanisms, passion or love for one’s work and freedom to voice ideas. Finally, synthesis of creativity theories with HRM and HRD extend and advance theory and practice in a number of ways that have implications for the limitations of KEYS and for models of SHRM. Results extend existing knowledge and understanding of facilitation and implications are explored in-depth for organisations aspiring to creativity and innovation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:536696 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Loewenberger, Pauline Anne |
| Publisher | University of Bedfordshire |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/10547/134354 |
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