How does creativity occur in teams? An empirical test

Abstract

Organizations benefit when workteams produce more rather than less creativity. What actions in organizations help this to occur - on the part of team leaders and team members? This is the primary question that my dissertation aims to answer. More specifically, I hypothesize that team leaders' behaviors (e.g., transformational, empowering, and boundary-working behaviors) lead to team members' affective and cognitive experiences (e.g., positive group affective tone, team empowerment) that in turn lead to teamwork processes (e.g., information sharing and boundary-spanning among team members) that ultimately lead to team creativity. Thus, my dissertation attempts to explain how and why team creativity occurs. Results from 52 organizational R&D teams suggest support for these hypothesized relationships and for the theoretical model overall. I conclude by discussing my findings' implications for managers and management scholars interested in enhancing team creativity.