Social Network Drivers of Creativity and Innovation at the Individual and Team Level

Abstract

In the contemporary business world, creative ideas are more often the product of social interaction and influence than long periods of thinking in isolation. To this end, researchers and management practitioners have been interested in examining the role played by social networks in driving creativity and innovation. Previous findings illustrate the complex way in which social networks can influence creativity and innovation, suggesting that it is important to further explore the effect of different networks (external and internal), at different levels of analyses (individual and team), involving new or repeat relationships, as well as the role of contacts with particular attributes (goal orientation and prosocial motivation) or resources. These topics are addressed in this symposium through four papers that explore in distinct, yet highly related, ways the links between social networks and creativity and innovation at work, both at the individual and at the team level of analyses. Balancing repeat collaboration with external memberships in a network of professional jazz musicians Presenter: Floor van den Born; VU U. Amsterdam Presenter: Kevyn Yong; HEC Paris A social resources perspective on employee creativity Presenter: Travis J Grosser; U. of Connecticut Presenter: Giuseppe Labianca; U. of Kentucky Networks and creativity: The effect of functional diversity and goal orientation on creativity Presenter: Wonseok Choi; U. of Connecticut Presenter: Nora Madjar; U. of Connecticut