Creativity & Innovation in a Digital Workplace Culture : Multiple case-study research about establishing a digital workplace culture that fosters innovation and creativity.

Abstract: Background: The culture of a company has a significant influence on its creativity andinnovativeness. For this reason, it is important to build a corporate culture that promotes creativity and innovation. But the conditions for doing this have changed dramatically in recent years. Also due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many employees work from home offices and form virtual teams. This leads to massive changes in the way people work together and thus in the culture of the company. Purpose: The research purpose of this study is to create a framework that incorporates the elements of a digital workplace culture and provides leaders with a tool to create a culture that promotes creativity and innovation in the context of the digital workplace. Method: The method used to conduct the study was the multiple case-study according to Eisenhardt (1989). The approach was qualitative and inductive. Within 13 cases, acomprehensive picture of creative and innovative companies and their corporate culture was derived. Conclusion: The result of this study is a framework that describes the elements of a digital workplace culture that promotes creativity and innovation. These elements are classified into four different levels. The organizational level includes all the elements that are relevant at the company level. The team level contains the elements that determine the culture in the team. The individual level includes the elements that individuals need or contribute to a digital workplace culture that promotes creativity and innovation. In addition, managerial practices were identified. These explicitly help managers to build a DWC that promotes creativity and innovation.