Learning oriented team management and creative performance : Multi level investigation

Abstract

Creativity is an essential element in organizations. The modern society, characterized by rapid changes, intensified the importance of creativity, which is defined as generation of new and useful ideas. Therefore, many researchers have focused on determinants of creativity, especially on the individual level and the organizational level. However, despite the fact that the basic unit of organization is team, there has been little attention to the team-level variables such as precedents of creativity. The main purpose of this paper is to study the effect of learning oriented team management on individual creativity and team creativity. Especially, I defined learning oriented team management as a system of practices that purpose to develop a learning organization and developed the components based on the AMO (ability-motivation-opportunity) model. Also, drawing on insights from the information processing theory and the self-determination theory, I theorized and examined team climate (team learning goal orientation) and individual mindset (intrinsic motivation) as intervening mechanisms between learning oriented team management and creative performance. This study surveyed 257 team members in 48 teams in Korean organizations across various industries and used hierarchical linear modeling and regression analysis. The results showed that the learning oriented team management was positively related to individual creativity via team learning goal orientation and individual intrinsic motivation and was positively related to team creativity via team learning goal orientation. Additional analysis also revealed that the motivation enhancing learning oriented team management has the most significant effect on creativity among AMO components.