Network Structure, Collaborative Context, and Individual Creativity

Diego Stea, Giuseppe Soda, Torben Pedersen

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    Abstract

    Network research has yet to determine whether bonding ties or bridging ties are more beneficial for individual creativity, but the debate has mostly overlooked the organizational context in which such ties are formed. In particular, the causal chain connecting network structures and individual outcomes often assumes that different network structures embody specific individual behaviors. This paper challenges the widespread assumption that dense, heavily bonded network structures imply a collaborative attitude on the part of network actors. We propose that collaboration can also be contextual and exogenous to a network’s structural characteristics, such that it moderates the effects of both dense and brokered networks on individual creativity. Specifically, we argue that knowledge acquisition and, in turn, individual creativity are more likely when an individual’s network position has a good fit with the network’s organizational context. Thus, actors in dense network structures acquire more knowledge and eventually become more creative in organizational contexts where collaboration is high. Conversely, brokers who arbitrage information across disconnected network contacts acquire more valuable knowledge, and thereby achieve higher creativity, in organizational contexts where collaboration is low.
    OriginalsprogEngelsk
    TitelProceedings of the Seventy-sixth Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management
    RedaktørerJohn Humphreys
    Antal sider5
    UdgivelsesstedBriar Cliff Manor, NY
    ForlagAcademy of Management
    Publikationsdato2016
    Sider237-241
    Artikelnummer11211
    DOI
    StatusUdgivet - 2016
    BegivenhedThe Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2016: Making Organizations Meaningful - Anaheim, USA
    Varighed: 5 aug. 20169 aug. 2016
    Konferencens nummer: 76
    http://aom.org/annualmeeting/

    Konference

    KonferenceThe Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2016
    Nummer76
    Land/OmrådeUSA
    ByAnaheim
    Periode05/08/201609/08/2016
    Internetadresse
    NavnAcademy of Management Proceedings
    ISSN2151-6561

    Emneord

    • Individual creativity
    • Knowledge sharing
    • Social networks

    Citationsformater