Creativity and the work context

This chapter summarizes and integrates the literature that has addressed the effects of contextual conditions on employee creativity. Substantial evidence suggests that employee creativity contributes to an organization's growth, effectiveness, and survival. Given the potential significance of employee creativity for the growth and effectiveness of organizations, it is not surprising that a wealth of recent studies have examined the possibility that there are personal and contextual conditions that serve to enhance (or restrict) the creativity employees exhibit at work. Most contemporary theorists define creativity as the production of ideas concerning products, practices, services, or procedures that are novel or original and potentially useful to the organization. Ideas are considered novel if they are unique relative to other ideas currently available in the organization. Ideas are considered useful if they have the potential for direct or indirect value to the organization, in either the short- or long-term.