Resource Center

Organizations have increasingly become interested in creativity and innovation, in part as a response to the pressures associated with globalization, competition, economic factors and technology changes. Many organizational leaders see creativity as an opportunity for gaining a sustainable competitive advantage.

An outcome or result is interpreted as creative if it is both novel and appropriate (Amabile, 1996). Though much of the early research on creativity focused on major breakthroughs or radical ideas in science and art (referred to as “Big C”), these kinds of creative activities would not be functional in organizations. In the context of an organization, we need creative output (e.g., solution, product) to have a suitable fit within the organizational vision and goals. Thus, the opportunity for most of us to be creative will be different. We are more likely to be presented with the opportunities to be creative in less extreme ways, such as the adaptation of a process or solving a problem (known as “little c”).