Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v22y2011i1p1-21.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Where Do Creative Interactions Come From? The Role of Tie Content and Social Networks

Author

Listed:
  • Manuel E. Sosa

    (INSEAD, 77305 Fontainebleau Cedex, France)

Abstract
Understanding the determinants of creativity at the individual and organizational level has been the focus of a long history of research in various disciplines from the social sciences, but little attention has been devoted to studying creativity at the dyadic level. Why are some dyadic interactions more likely than others to trigger the generation of novel and useful ideas in organizations? As dyads conduit both knowledge and social forces, they offer an ideal setting to disentangle the effects of knowledge diversity, tie strength, and network structure on the generation of creative thoughts. This paper not only challenges the current belief that sporadic and distant dyadic relationships (weak ties) foster individual creativity but also argues that diverse and strong ties facilitate the generation of creative ideas. From a knowledge viewpoint, our results suggest that ties that transmit a wide (rather than narrow) set of knowledge domains (within the same tie) favor creative idea generation if exchanges occur with sufficient frequency. From a social perspective, we find that strong ties serve as effective catalysts for the generation of creative ideas when they link actors who are intrinsically motivated to work closely together. Finally, this paper also shows that dyadic network cohesion (i.e., the connections from the focal dyad to common contacts) does not always hinder the generation of creative ideas. Our empirical evidence suggests that when cohesion exceeds its average levels, it becomes detrimental to creative idea generation. Hypotheses are tested in a sociometric study conducted within the development department of a software firm.

Suggested Citation

  • Manuel E. Sosa, 2011. "Where Do Creative Interactions Come From? The Role of Tie Content and Social Networks," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(1), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:22:y:2011:i:1:p:1-21
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1090.0519
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1090.0519
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.1090.0519?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Simon Rodan & Charles Galunic, 2004. "More than network structure: how knowledge heterogeneity influences managerial performance and innovativeness," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 541-562, June.
    2. Fleming, Lee & Sorenson, Olav, 2001. "Technology as a complex adaptive system: evidence from patent data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(7), pages 1019-1039, August.
    3. Andrew B. Hargadon & Beth A. Bechky, 2006. "When Collections of Creatives Become Creative Collectives: A Field Study of Problem Solving at Work," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(4), pages 484-500, August.
    4. Christopher F Baum, 2006. "An Introduction to Modern Econometrics using Stata," Stata Press books, StataCorp LP, number imeus, March.
    5. Stephen P. Borgatti & Rob Cross, 2003. "A Relational View of Information Seeking and Learning in Social Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(4), pages 432-445, April.
    6. Manuel E. Sosa & Steven D. Eppinger & Craig M. Rowles, 2004. "The Misalignment of Product Architecture and Organizational Structure in Complex Product Development," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(12), pages 1674-1689, December.
    7. Nelson P. Repenning, 2002. "A Simulation-Based Approach to Understanding the Dynamics of Innovation Implementation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(2), pages 109-127, April.
    8. Karan Girotra & Christian Terwiesch & Karl T. Ulrich, 2010. "Idea Generation and the Quality of the Best Idea," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(4), pages 591-605, April.
    9. Szulanski, Gabriel, 2000. "The Process of Knowledge Transfer: A Diachronic Analysis of Stickiness," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 9-27, May.
    10. Ray Reagans, 2005. "Preferences, Identity, and Competition: Predicting Tie Strength from Demographic Data," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 51(9), pages 1374-1383, September.
    11. Martin Gargiulo & Mario Benassi, 2000. "Trapped in Your Own Net? Network Cohesion, Structural Holes, and the Adaptation of Social Capital," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(2), pages 183-196, April.
    12. Udo Zander & Bruce Kogut, 1995. "Knowledge and the Speed of the Transfer and Imitation of Organizational Capabilities: An Empirical Test," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(1), pages 76-92, February.
    13. M. Ann McFadyen & Matthew Semadeni & Albert A. Cannella, 2009. "Value of Strong Ties to Disconnected Others: Examining Knowledge Creation in Biomedicine," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(3), pages 552-564, June.
    14. Rick L. Williams, 2000. "A Note on Robust Variance Estimation for Cluster-Correlated Data," Biometrics, The International Biometric Society, vol. 56(2), pages 645-646, June.
    15. Peter W. Roberts & Raphael Amit, 2003. "The Dynamics of Innovative Activity and Competitive Advantage: The Case of Australian Retail Banking, 1981 to 1995," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(2), pages 107-122, April.
    16. David Dekker & David Krackhardt & Tom Snijders, 2007. "Sensitivity of MRQAP Tests to Collinearity and Autocorrelation Conditions," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 72(4), pages 563-581, December.
    17. Daniel Z. Levin & Rob Cross, 2004. "The Strength of Weak Ties You Can Trust: The Mediating Role of Trust in Effective Knowledge Transfer," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(11), pages 1477-1490, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Haibo Liu & Jürgen Mihm & Manuel E. Sosa & Manuel E. Sosa, 2018. "Where Do Stars Come From? The Role of Star vs. Nonstar Collaborators in Creative Settings," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(6), pages 1149-1169, December.
    2. Narda R. Quigley & Paul E. Tesluk & Edwin A. Locke & Kathryn M. Bartol, 2007. "A Multilevel Investigation of the Motivational Mechanisms Underlying Knowledge Sharing and Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(1), pages 71-88, February.
    3. Mäkelä, Kristiina & Andersson, Ulf & Seppälä, Tomi, 2012. "Interpersonal similarity and knowledge sharing within multinational organizations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 439-451.
    4. Boeker, Warren & Howard, Michael D. & Basu, Sandip & Sahaym, Arvin, 2021. "Interpersonal relationships, digital technologies, and innovation in entrepreneurial ventures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 495-507.
    5. Stacey Peterson & Lisa Steelman, 2015. "Repatriate Knowledge Sharing Environment: Scale Development and Validation," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 14(04), pages 1-18, December.
    6. Linda Argote & Sunkee Lee & Jisoo Park, 2021. "Organizational Learning Processes and Outcomes: Major Findings and Future Research Directions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(9), pages 5399-5429, September.
    7. Sameer B. Srivastava, 2015. "Intraorganizational Network Dynamics in Times of Ambiguity," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(5), pages 1365-1380, October.
    8. Tu, Jing, 2024. "Openness to international collaboration and tie strength in enhancing knowledge creation," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1).
    9. Gokhan Ertug & Martin Gargiulo & Charles Galunic & Tengjian Zou, 2018. "Homophily and Individual Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(5), pages 912-930, October.
    10. Josef Windsperger & Nina Gorovaia, 2011. "Knowledge attributes and the choice of knowledge transfer mechanism in networks: the case of franchising," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 15(4), pages 617-640, November.
    11. Kartik Kalaignanam & Tarun Kushwaha & Anand Nair, 2017. "The Product Quality Impact of Aligning Buyer-Supplier Network Structure and Product Architecture: an Empirical Investigation in the Automobile Industry," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 4(1), pages 1-17, September.
    12. Sheen S. Levine & Michael J. Prietula, 2012. "How Knowledge Transfer Impacts Performance: A Multilevel Model of Benefits and Liabilities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(6), pages 1748-1766, December.
    13. Marco Tortoriello & Bill McEvily & David Krackhardt, 2015. "Being a Catalyst of Innovation: The Role of Knowledge Diversity and Network Closure," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(2), pages 423-438, April.
    14. Christos Kolympiris & Sebastian Hoenen & Peter G. Klein, 2019. "Learning by Seconding: Evidence from National Science Foundation Rotators," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(3), pages 528-551, May.
    15. Tian Heong Chan & Haibo Liu & Steffen Keck & Wenjie Tang, 2023. "When do teams generate valuable inventions? The moderating role of invention integrality on the effects of expertise similarity, network cohesion, and gender diversity," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(6), pages 1760-1777, June.
    16. Chollet, Barthélemy & Revet, Karine, 2023. "Digging deep or scratching the surface? Contingent innovation outcomes of seeking advice from geographically distant ties," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    17. A. Willem & M. Buelens, 2003. "Making Competencies Cross Business Unit Boundaries: The Interplay between Inter-Unit Coordination, Trust and Knowledge Transferability," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 03/176, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    18. Lin, Runhui & Lu, Yanhong & Zhou, Cheng & Li, Biting, 2022. "Rethinking individual technological innovation: Cooperation network stability and the contingent effect of knowledge network attributes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 366-376.
    19. Chauvet, Vincent & Chollet, Barthélemy & Soda, Giuseppe & Huault, Isabelle, 2011. "The contribution of network research to managerial culture and practice," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 321-334.
    20. Bae, Joonhyung & Ozmel, Umit, 2024. "The interplay between product development failures and alliance portfolio properties in the formation of exploration versus exploitation alliances," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:22:y:2011:i:1:p:1-21. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.