Team creativity: A complex adaptive perspective

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims at narrowing a high level of fragmentation in the knowledge on the topic of team creativity (TC) that plays a fundamental role in enhancing an organization's delivery systems and market position by mapping available knowledge within a proposed framework. Although there is a wealth of knowledge on the topic, this fragmentation as revealed by past research limits the comprehensive understanding of the subject.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review was used to gather evidence about the key concepts in the fields of management, organization and innovation. This evidence is mapped against the backdrop of a complex adaptive perspective, as creativity is perceived as the product of micro-social units within the context of macro-social systems.

Findings

The great number of concepts found in literature are organized into a framework that distinguishes relevant inputs that can affect team functioning; relevant mediators for TC; and TC outcomes. The framework is reviewed and discussed within the context of the social systems in which the team is embedded.

Originality/value

TC is one of the most fertile research streams within the research field of innovation, and yet it suffers from a fragmentation that limits a deeper level of understanding and the advancement of actionable knowledge from taking place. An integrative theoretical perspective of micro- and macro-social systems gives researchers new insights into the interconnection between the numerous findings already found in the literature and gives a clear direction for future research.

Citation

Cirella, S., Radaelli, G. and B. (Rami) Shani, A. (2014), "Team creativity: A complex adaptive perspective", Management Research Review, Vol. 37 No. 7, pp. 590-614. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-12-2012-0261