Three foundations of meeting organizational objectives, particularly with regards to new product development, are creativity, innovation and design. To put it most succinctly, creativity is the source of innovation, and design is what harnesses both these factors and mitigates the risk inherent in innovation. These three things are at the heart of any entrepreneurial organization, be it a small business or a large corporation. This paper will discuss these three concepts in detail and how they come together to meet organizational objectives.
The first concept I will discuss is creativity. In everyday speech, “creativity” generally demotes imaginativeness, artistic or poetic ability, and occasionally deceitfulness. In the organizational context, however, it should be taken to mean a character trait on the part of an individual within the organization that causes them to generate new solutions to problems, consider things from a different angle than most of their peers, and have a tendency to deviate from “groupthink” within an organization. Creativity is not simply a matter of individual traits nor rogue individuals aggressively seeking to think “outside the box,” however. Blauth, Mauer and Brettel, summarizing the work of Teresa Amabile, write that “creativity is a function of external and internal factors which can be classified into two main sources: work environment and individual characteristics” (2014). Thus, creativity within an organization is a product of the interplay between individual personality and organizational culture. Creativity seems to be the product of a high tolerance for risk and uncertainty on the part of the individual employee and the environment in which they work.
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"Innovation Design and Creativity".
Creativity in an organization is what drives innovation. Innovation in this context can best be described as the process by which creative ideas are realized into a product or service that can be sold and produce revenue for the organization. Innovations tend to fall into one of two categories: evolutionary innovation and revolutionary innovation. Evolutionary innovation occurs when changes to existing products and/or service are made in an incremental manner, often in response to problems that arise with said products and services. Revolutionary innovation, on the other hand, introduces new or “disruptive” products or services, and in doing so, attempts to create a new market. While both types of innovation are rife with uncertainty, revolutionary innovation is by far the riskier of the two.
Design, in this context, is essentially the plan by which an organization is structured and the process established to carry out this plan. Design sets up the day-to-day operations necessary to realize innovations and bring them to market, and effective organizational design can mitigate the risks posed by innovations, both evolutionary and revolutionary. Blauth, Mauer and Brettel emphasize the role of organizational design in fostering or hindering creativity and innovation. An organization that has low tolerance for uncertainty and risk will incorporate this into its design and individuals within the organization will reign in their creativity or leave the organization. Organizations with an entrepreneurial approach to design embrace risk and encourage creativity and innovation. Design, thus, is the element that can “make or break” creativity and innovation in an organization.
- Blauth, M., Mauer, R., and Brettel, M. (2014). Fostering Creativity in New Product Development through Entrepreneurial Decision Making. Creativity and Innovation Management, Vol 23 (4), 495-509. DOI: 10.1111/caim.12094.
