The Effect of Gratitude on Team Creativity: A Collective Information- processing Perspective

Abstract

What happens to team creativity when team members experience gratitude? We examine the implications of gratitude on team information processing and creativity. Specifically, we argue that team members’ gratitude facilitates better information processing, by which team members engage in more active discussion and idea elaboration, which enhances team creativity. In Study 1, we demonstrate the effects of team members’ trait gratitude on team creativity: Individuals with high trait gratitude made greater creative contributions to their teams. In addition, team members’ trait gratitude was positively related to team reflexivity. In Study 2, we manipulated gratitude and examined how practicing gratitude improved team creativity. Consistent with our hypothesis, gratitude did not increase the quantity of team ideas, but rather improved the quality of creative ideas through team idea elaboration. We discuss our findings’ implications for team creativity and potential directions for future research.