Collective Creativity as a driver for innovation : A qualitative multiple case study analysis of the phenomena of Collective Creativity within innovation-driven environments

Abstract: In our today’s fast-paced and rapidly changing world, innovation became a crucial factor for economic growth and organizational effectiveness [35,37]. Several factors promoting innovation have been discussed in literature, mostly focusing on individual creativity as its main driver. However, the growing interdisciplinarity and complexity of today’s challenges urge for broader knowledge basis and specialized expertise at the same time [17]. This makes the creative potential of a single talent no longer sufficient enough to create the multidisciplinary novel solutions that are needed. Leading innovation companies such as Google have therefore shown that innovation results from a creative collective working together by combining everyone’s “slice of genius” [20:4]. Yet, research on Collective Creativity (CC) is still limited. Just as innovation or creativity itself, it is a process that does not happen automatically, but which needs to be supported and maintained. However, a holistic and comprehensive model of how such a collective creative environment can be promoted is still missing. Therefore, this study aims at analyzing the phenomena of CC in more detail by answering the research question of this studies: What are the factors that contribute to the development of Collective Creativity in an innovation-driven environment? On the basis of an extensive literature analysis, an integrative framework has been developed to identify the factors by which a creative collective environment is performed. Secondly, a multiple case study analysis of the two leading innovation companies Pixar Animation Studios and Volkswagen has been conducted to test the prior developed framework’s validity and refine it with in-depth insights from the field. Combining the findings of both analyses, a comprehensive exploratory framework has been developed that provides an overarching guideline of the factors that should to be considered when practicing CC. Besides the practical implications of this research for both, leadership and teamwork, it further contributes to an advanced understanding of this so far little researched phenomena and presents directions for future studies.