The role of Time Pressure and Organizational Rules In Promoting Collaborative Creativity

Abstract

Using a help-seeking, help-giving perspective (Hargadon & Bechky, 2006), we draw on the componential theory of creativity to examine the relationship between constraints and group creativity. We posit that two inescapable constraints, time pressure and organizational rules, enhance group creativity in the workplace as they aid coordination between group members. Using KEYS Assessment field data and an experiment, we find that organizational encouragement mediates a positive influence of time or workload pressure, a synonymous construct (Amabile et al., 2001) and organizational rules on group creativity and performance. Our results extend the componential theory of creativity from the individual to the group level of analysis by introducing organizational encouragement as a mediating mechanism. We discuss implications for approaching research into group creativity and suggest future directions that depart from those pursued in studying individual creativity.