Artists as public sector intrapreneurs: an experiment

Abstract

As organizations grapple with changing environmental conditions, they face problems that are novel, ill-defined, and complex. These emerging problems require creative problem-solving and innovative solutions. Intrapreneurs can galvanize creative activity and develop fresh strategies in organizations. One way that organizations have sought to promote intrapreneurship is through artist residencies, which are programs that invite artists to work in unconventional environments, such as public agencies, businesses, and universities. In a controlled experiment, we test whether artists act as intrapreneurs in solving a novel, ill-defined, and complex problem in the public sector context. Our results indicate that artists bring intrapreneurial characteristics, such as openness and divergent thinking abilities, to group problem-solving settings. Moreover, we find that groups of public sector workers who collaborate with artists may develop more creative solutions than groups collaborating without artists. Our results suggest that artists serve as resident intrapreneurs, bringing openness to new insights and creativity to generate new ideas.