Determinants of organisational creativity: a literature review

Abstract

In today’s competitive business environment, global competition forces companies to perpetually seek ways of improving their products/services. Organisations increasingly aspire to become more creative and capitalise on the benefits of creativity, and perceive the development of conditions that encourage creativity within their working environment as a long‐term process rather than a quick fix to their current problems. While the capability of an organisation to become more creative must start at the level of the individual, individual creativity in itself is not enough. A vital, often ignored component of creativity is the creativity that occurs at the organisational level. This paper reviews writings in an attempt to clearly identify the factors that influence organisational creativity and hence that need to be taken into consideration when managing creativity in organisational settings. The literature review summarises five key factors that affect organisational creativity, namely organisational climate, leadership style, organisational culture, resources and skills and the structure and systems of an organisation.