Hostname: page-component-7dd5485656-7jgsp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-31T06:48:04.727Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Missing Piece of the Puzzle: The Organizational Context in Cultural Patterns of Creativity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Jing Zhou  and
Yanjie Su
Jing Zhou
Affiliation:
Rice University, USA
Yanjie Su
Affiliation:
Peking University, China
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this article, we first review cross-cultural research, especially that concerning similarities and differences between East Asian and Western cultures, on creativity using laboratory tasks and tests. On the basis of this review, we then propose some directions for future cross-cultural research on creativity in the workplace. We emphasize the need to theorize why cultural differences make a difference in creativity and directly investigate, rather than assume, effects of contextual factors on creativity. In this regard, two literatures on creativity – cross-cultural studies using laboratory tasks and organizational studies of employee creativity – can benefit tremendously from integration. We also call for more empirical research examining effects of culture on creativity in the workplace, especially in China.

Keywords

coworker influencescreativitycross-culturalinnovationleadershipsocial network同事的影响创造力跨文化创新、领导社会网络

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , November 2010 , pp. 391 - 413
Copyright
Copyright © International Association for Chinese Management Research 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Amabile, T. M. 1979. Effects of external evaluation on artistic creativity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(2): 221–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amabile, T. M. 1996. Creativity in context. Boulder, CO: Westview.Google Scholar
Amabile, T. M., & Conti, H. 1999. Changes in the work environment for creativity during downsizing. Academy of Management Journal, 42(6): 630–640.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amabile, T. M., & Gryskiewicz, N. D. 1989. The creative environment scales: Work environment inventory. Creativity Research Journal, 2: 231–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amabile, T. M., Goldfarb, P., & Brackfield, S. C. 1990. Social influences on creativity: Evaluation, coaction, and surveillance. Creativity Research Journal, 3(1): 6–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amabile, T. M., Conti, R., Coon, H., Lazenby, J., & Herron, M. 1996. Assessing the work environment for creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 39(5): 1154–1184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amabile, T. M., Schatzel, E. A., Moneta, G. B., & Kramer, S.J. 2004. Leader behaviors and the work environment for creativity: Perceived leader support. Leadership Quarterly, 15(1): 5–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amabile, T. M., Barsade, S. G., Mueller, J. S., & Staw, B. M. 2005. Affect and creativity at work. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(3): 367–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, N., De Dreu, C. K. W., & Nijstad, B. A. 2004. The routinization of innovation research: A constructively critical review of the state-of-the-science. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(2): 147–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andrews, F. M., & Farris, F. 1967. Supervisory practices and innovation in scientific teams. Personnel Psychology, 20(4): 497–575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartis, S., Szymanski, K., & Harkins, S. G. 1988. Evaluation and performance: A two edged knife. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 14(2): 242–251.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bass, B. M. 1985. Leadership and performance beyond expectation. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Burns, D. J., & Brady, J. 1992. A cross-cultural comparison of the need for uniqueness in Malaysia and the United States. The Journal of Social Psychology, 132: 487–495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burns, D. J., & Krampf, R. F. 1991. A semiotic perspective on innovative behavior. In King, R. L. (Ed.), Developments in marketing science (Vol. 14): 32–35. Richmond, VA: Academy of Marketing Science.Google Scholar
Burt, R. 2004. Structural holes and good ideas. American Journal of Sociology, 110(2): 349–399.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, D. T. 1960. Blind variation and selective retention in creative thought as to other knowledge processes. Psychological Review, 67: 380–400.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carson, P. P., & Carson, K. D. 1993. Managing creativity enhancement through goal setting and feedback. Journal of Creative Behavior, 27(1): 36–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Check, J. M., & Stahl, S. S. 1986. Shyness and verbal creativity. Journal of Research in Personality, 20: 51–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chua, R. Y.J., Morris, M. W., & Ingram, P. 2009. Guaim versus networking: Distinctive configurations of affect- and cognition-based trust in the networks of Chinese and American managers. Journal of International Business Studies, 40(3): 480–508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chua, R. Y. J., Morris, M. W., & Ingram, P. 2010. Embeddedness and new idea discussion in professional networks: The mediating role of affect-based trust. Journal of Creative Behavior, 44(2): 85–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, A., & Oldham, G. R. 1997. Enhancing creativity: Managing work contexts for the high potential employee. California Management Review, 40(1): 22–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. 1980. The empirical exploration of intrinsic motivational processes. In Berkowitz, L. (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology: 39–80. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. 1985. Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farmer, S. M., Tierey, P., & Kung-McIntyre, K. 2003. Employee creativity in Taiwan: An application of role identity theory. Academy of Management Journal, 46(5): 618–630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frese, M., Teng, E., & Wijnen, C.J. 1999. Helping to improve suggestion systems: Predictors of making suggestions in companies. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20: 1139–1155.3.0.CO;2-I>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fu, J. H. Y., & Chiu, C. Y. 2007. Local cultures' responses to globalization: Exemplary persons and their attendant values. Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology, 38: 636–653.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
George, J. M., & Zhou, J. 2001. When openness to experience and conscientiousness are related to creative behavior: An interactional approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3): 513–524.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
George, J. M., & Zhou, J. 2002. Understanding when bad moods foster creativity and good ones don't: The role of context and clarity of feelings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4): 687–697.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gilson, L. L., & Shalley, C. E. 2004. A little creativity goes a long way: An examination of teams' engagement in creative processes. Journal of Management, 30(4): 453–470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heine, S. J., Lehman, D. R., Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. 1999. Is there a universal need for positive self-regard? Psychological Review, 106(4): 766–794.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heine, S. J., Kitayama, S., Lehman, D. R., Takata, T., Ide, E., Leung, C., & Matsumoto, H. 2001. Divergent consequences of success and failure in Japan and North America: An investigation of self-improving motivation and malleable selves. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81: 599–615.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Higgins, E. T., Shah, J., & Friedman, R. 1997. Emotional responses to goal attainment: Strength of regulatory focus as a moderator. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(3): 515–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirst, G., van Knippenberg, D., & Zhou, J. 2009. A cross-level perspective on employee creativity: Goal orientation, team learning behavior, and individual creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 52(2): 280–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hui, M. K., Au, K., & Fock, H. 2004. Empowerment effects across cultures. Journal of International Business Studies, 35(1): 46–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ip, G. W., Chen, J., & Chiu, C. 2006. The relationship of promotion focus, need for cognitive closure, and categorical accessibility in American and Hong Kong Chinese university students. Journal of Creative Behavior, 40: 201–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Isen, A. M., Johnson, M. M. S., Mertz, E., & Robinson, G. R. 1985. The influence of positive affect on the unusualness of word associations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48: 1413–1426.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Isen, A. M., Daubman, K. A., & Nowicki, G. P. 1987. Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52: 1122–1131.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Iyengar, S. S., & Lepper, M. R. 1999. Rethinking the value of choice: A cultural perspective on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76: 349–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jaquish, G. A., & Ripple, R. E. 1984. A life-span developmental cross-cultural study of divergent thinking abilities. InternationalJournal of Aging and Human Development, 20: 1984–1985.Google ScholarPubMed
Kaufmann, G., & Vosburg, S. K. 1997. ‘Paradoxical’ mood effects on creative problem-solving. Cognition and Emotion, 11(2): 151–170.Google Scholar
Kruglanski, A. W., & Webster, D. M. 1996. Motivated closing of the mind: ‘Seizing’ and ‘freezing’. Psychological Review, 103(2): 263–283.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leung, K., & Morris, M. W. 2010. Culture and creativity: A social psychological analysis. In Cramer, D. D., Murnighan, J. K. & Dick, R. van (Eds.), Social psychology and organizations. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Leung, K., Chen, Z., Zhou, F., & Lim, K. 2009. Relationship between traditional culture and innovative performance in China: The role of face and renqing. Unpublished manuscript. China: City University of Hong Kong.Google Scholar
Madjar, N., Oldham, G. R., & Pratt, M. G. 2002. There's no place like home? The contributions of work and nonwork creativity support to employees' creative performance. Academy of Management Journal, 45(4): 757–767.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, L. L., & Stoner, P. 1996. Mood as input: What we think about how we feel determines how we think, In Martin, L. L. & Tesser, A. (Eds.), Striving and feeling: Interactions among goals, affect, and self-regulation: 279–301. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Niu, W., & Sternberg, R. 2002. Contemporary studies on the concept of creativity: The East and the West. Journal of Creative Behavior, 36: 269–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niu, W., Zhang, J., & Yang, Y. 2007. Deductive reasoning and creativity: A cross-cultural study. Psychological Reports, 100: 509–519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oldham, G. R., & Cummings, A. 1996. Employee creativity: Personal and contextual factors at work. Academy of Management Journal, 39(3): 607–634.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry-Smith, J. E. 2006. Social yet creative: The role of social relationships in facilitating individual creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 49(1): 85–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry-Smith, J. E., & Shalley, C. E. 2003. The social side of creativity: A static and dynamic social network perspective. Academy of Management Review, 28: 89–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riquelme, H. 2002. Creative imagery in the East and West. Creativity Research Journal, 14(2): 281–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saeki, N., Fan, X., & Dusen, L. V. 2001. A comparative study of creative thinking of American and Japanese college students. Journal of Creative Behavior, 35: 24–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, S. H. 1992. Universals in the content and structure of values: Theory and empirical tests in 20 countries. In Zanna, M. (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology. vol. 25: 1–65. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Schwarz, N., & Clore, G. L. 2003. Mood as information. Psychological Inquiry, 14: 296–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shalley, C. E. 1991. Effects of productivity goals, creativity goals, and personal discretion on individual creativity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(2): 179–185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shalley, C. E. 1995. Effects of coaction, expected evaluation, and goal setting on creativity and productivity. Academy of Management Journal, 38(2): 483–503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shalley, C. E., & Gilson, L. L. 2004. What leaders need to know: A review of social and contextual factors that can foster or hinder creativity. Leadership Quarterly, 15: 33–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shalley, C. E., & Perry-Smith, J. E. 2001. Effects of social-psychological factors on creative performance: The role of informational and controlling expected evaluation and modeling experience. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 84(1): 1–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shalley, C. E., Zhou, J., & Oldham, G. R. 2004. The effects of personal and contextual characteristics on creativity: Where should we go from here? Journal of Management, 30(6): 933–958.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shin, S., & Zhou, J. 2003. Transformational leadership, conservation, and creativity: Evidence from Korea. Academy of Management Journal, 46(6): 703–714.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shin, S., & Zhou, J. 2007. When is educational specialization heterogeneity related to creativity in research and development teams? Transformational leadership as a moderator. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6): 1709–1721.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simonton, D. K. 1975. Sociocultural context of individual creativity: A transhistorical time-series analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32: 1119–1133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simonton, D. K. 1984. Genius, creativity, and leadership: Historiometric inquiries. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simonton, D. K. 1999. Creativity as blind variation and selective retention: Is the creative process Darwinian? Psychological Inquiry, 10: 309–328.Google Scholar
Stahl, M. J., & Koser, M. C. 1978. Weighted productivity in R & D: Some associated individual and organizational variables. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 25, 20–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szymanski, K., & Harkins, S. G. 1992. Self-evaluation and creativity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18: 259–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tierney, P., & Farmer, S. M. 2002. Creative self-efficacy: Potential antecedents and relationship to creative performance. Academy of Management Journal, 45(6): 1137–1148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tierney, P., & Farmer, S. M. 2004. The Pygmalion process and employee creativity. Journal of Management, 30(3): 413–432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tierney, P., Farmer, S. M., & Graen, G. B. 1999. An examination of leadership and employee creativity: The relevance of traits and relationships. Personnel Psychology, 52: 591–620.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torrance, E. P. 1974. Torrance tests of creative thinking: Directions manual and scoring guide. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Van Dyne, L., Jehn, K. A., & Cummings, A. 2002. Differential effects of strain on two forms of work performance: Individual employee sales and creativity. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23: 57–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, T. B. 1994. Structured imagination: The role of category structure in exemplar generation. Cognitive Psychology, 27: 1–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodman, R. W., Sawyer, J. E., & Griffin, R. W. 1993. Toward a theory of organizational creativity. Academy of Management Review, 18(2): 293–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, C., McMullen, J. S., Neubert, M. J., & Yi, X. 2008. The influence of leader regulatory focus on employee creativity. Journal of Business Venturing, 23(5): 587–602.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xiao, Z., & Tsui, A. S. 2007. When brokers may not work: The cultural contingency of social capital in Chinese high-tech firms. Administrative Science Quarterly, 52(1): 1–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yuan, F., & Zhou, J. 2008. Differential effects of expected external evaluation on different parts of the creative idea production process and on final product creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 20(4): 391–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zha, P., Walczyk, J. J., Griffith-Ross, D. A., Tobacyk, J. J., & Walczyk, D. F. 2006. The impact of culture and individualism-collectivism on the creative potential and achievement of American and Chinese adults. Creativity Research Journal, 18(3): 355–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, X., & Bartol, K. 2010. Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Academy of Management Journal, 53: 107–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, J. 1998. Feedback valence, feedback style, task autonomy, and achievement orientation: Interactive effects on creative performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(2): 261–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, J. 2003. When the presence of creative coworkers is related to creativity: Role of supervisor close monitoring, developmental feedback, and creative personality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(3): 413–422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhou, J. 2008. Promoting creativity through feedback. In Zhou, J. & Shalley, C. E. (Eds.), Handbook of organizational creativity: 125–145. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Zhou, J., & George, J. M. 2001. When job dissatisfaction leads to creativity: Encouraging the expression of voice. Academy of Management Journal, 44(4): 682–696.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, J., & Oldham, G. R. 2001. Enhancing creative performance: Effects of expected developmental assessment strategies and creative personality. Journal of Creative Behavior, 35(3): 151–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, J., & Shalley, C. E. 2003. Research on employee creativity: A critical review and directions for future research. In Martocchio, J. (Ed.), Research in personnel and human resource management: 165–217. Oxford, England: Elsevier.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, J., & Shalley, C. E. (Eds.). 2008a. Handbook of organizational creativity. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Zhou, J., & Shalley, C. E. 2008b. Expanding the scope and impact of organizational creativity research. In Zhou, J. & Shalley, C. E. (Eds.), Handbook of organizational creativity: 347–368. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Zhou, J., & Shalley, C. E. 2010. Deepening our understanding of creativity in the workplace. In Zedeck, S., Aguinis, H., Cascio, W., Gelfand, M., Leung, K., Parker, S. & Zhou, J. (Eds.), APA handbook of industrial-organizational psychology (vol. 1): 275–302. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Zhou, J., Shin, S. J., Brass, D. J., Choi, J., & Zhang, Z. 2009. Social networks, personal values, and creativity: Evidence for curvilinear and interaction effects. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(6): 1544–1552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zuckerman, H. 1977. Scientific elite: Nobel laureates in the U. S., New York, NY: The Free Press.Google Scholar