Creative action as a dynamic strategy: Using imagination to improve strategic solutions in unstable environments

Abstract

Confronted with rapidly changing, ambiguous environments, senior managers report that creative problem solving and the generation of new ideas are among the most important and valued traits in their workers. Managers are finding creative, action-based techniques more helpful when facing ambiguity and rapid change than rational—logical techniques designed to reduce uncertainty by collecting and analyzing data. However, imagination has surprisingly been largely neglected in the study of strategy and strategic decision making. This article takes a different approach than previous research. Bringing together research from behavioral decision theory, creativity, and strategic management, it takes an action-based view and posits that organizations should use dynamic, creative action-based decision-making processes to introduce new thinking into organizations that have severe performance problems. Creativity is important because taking creative action provides decision makers information that is different, and perhaps more helpful, than that educed from typical analytical methods.