Creativity →
- 10 Feb 2011
- Working Paper Summaries
The Dark Side of Creativity: Original Thinkers Can Be More Dishonest
Anyone who has spent significant time with artists knows that creative genius often comes with a dark side. This paper offers experimental evidence, specifically with regard to the relationship between creativity and unethical behavior. Research involving four experiments with university students was conducted by Francesca Gino of Harvard Business School and Dan Ariely of the Fuqua School of Business. Key concepts include: Creative students who showed a natural aptitude for divergent thinking tended to cheat more than linear thinkers. Creativity is a better predictor of unethical behavior than intelligence. Students who were deliberately induced to think creatively were, in turn, more likely to cheat than those who weren't primed to think outside the box. Creative people are more likely to cheat in part because their creativity helps them to come up with ingenious explanations to justify their unethical behavior. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Sep 2010
- Research & Ideas
The Consumer Appeal of Underdog Branding
Research by HBS professor Anat Keinan and colleagues explains how and why a "brand biography" about hard luck and fierce determination can boost the power of products in industries as diverse as food and beverages, technology, airlines, and automobiles. Key concepts include: Underdog brand biographies feature two intertwined narrative threads: a seemingly disadvantaged position in the marketplace, coupled with the passion and determination to succeed. Examples of "brands" that emphasize their underdog roots include Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Oprah Winfrey; candidates in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Nantucket Nectars, and Clif Bar. Underdog brand biographies resonate with consumers during tough economic times like those we live in. Popular stories about underdogs were prevalent during the Great Depression, too, and have been powerful around the world and throughout history. Use brand biographies carefully. Not all products and services are appropriate for underdog narratives. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Jul 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
File-Sharing and Copyright
The researchers argue that file-sharing technology has not undermined the incentives of artists and entertainment companies to create, market, and distribute new works. The advent of new technology has allowed consumers to copy music, books, video games, and other protected works on an unprecedented scale at minimal cost. Such technology has considerably weakened copyright protection, first of music and software and increasingly of movies, video games, and books. While policy discussion surrounding file-sharing has largely focused on the legality of the new technology and the question of whether declining sales in music are due to file-sharing, the debate has been overly narrow. Copyright protection exists to encourage innovation and the creation of new works—in other words, to promote social welfare. This essay analyzes the landscape and identifies areas for more research. Key concepts include: Digital technology has lowered the cost of producing movies and music and allowed artists to reach their audience in novel ways. It's difficult to argue that weaker copyright protection has had a negative impact on artists' incentives to be creative. File-sharing has not discouraged authors and publishers. The publication of new books rose by 66 percent over the 2002-2007 period. Since 2000, the annual release of new albums has more than doubled, and worldwide feature film production since 2003 is up by more than 30 percent. How markets for complementary goods (such as concerts, electronics, and communications infrastructure) have responded to file-sharing remains largely unexplored in academic research. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Jun 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
It Is Okay for Artists to Make Money…No, Really, It’s Okay
When art and commerce are mentioned in the same sentence, many people become bad tempered or think something needs fixing. This paper argues that more artists ought to make more money more often. HBS professor Robert Austin and theater dramaturg Lee Devin identify and undermine three fallacies about art and commerce, and suggest that it is necessary to carry on a more careful and less emotional conversation about the tensions between art and business and to overcome a general aversion to business common among artists and their patrons. They also stress the need to develop better theories about how art and commerce can achieve integration helpful to both. Key concepts include: The interests of art, artists, and business can be best served if more commerce enters into the world of art, not less. There are three fallacies, often implicit, about relationships between art and commerce: (1) art is a luxury and an indulgence, (2) art is clearly distinguishable from "non-art," and (3) commerce dominates and corrupts art, and subverts its purpose. Good art should achieve appropriate commercial value consistently, not just occasionally. A conversation takes place when art and commerce are in tension, a conversation in which neither artists nor managers should dominate. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Apr 2009
- Research & Ideas
Kind of Blue: Pushing Boundaries with Miles Davis
Since it hit the airwaves half a century ago, Kind of Blue by Miles Davis has influenced the hearts and minds of jazz fans everywhere. Its songs became instant classics, and it has also converted many a nonfan to appreciate the music's subtlety and complexity. In a new business case, HBS professor Robert D. Austin and Carl Størmer highlight the takeaways for thoughtful managers and executives from this story of creation and innovation. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Jun 2008
- What Do You Think?
Why Don’t Managers Think Deeply?
Online forum closed. Summing Up. According to Gerald and Lindsay Zaltman, nearly all research techniques commonly used today probe humans only at their conscious level, though it is the subconscious level that really determines behavior. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 14 May 2008
- Research & Ideas
Getting Down to the Business of Creativity
Business leaders must manage and support creativity just as they would any other asset. Harvard Business School professors Teresa Amabile, Mary Tripsas, and Mukti Khaire discuss where creativity comes from, how entrepreneurs use it, and why innovation is often a team sport. From the HBS Alumni Bulletin. Key concepts include: People have their best days and do their best work when they are allowed to make progress. Whenever a firm introduces a truly novel product, suppliers, complementary producers, distribution channels, and consumers must often develop new capabilities, beliefs, and behaviors for the product to succeed, creating a challenge for the innovator. The perception exists that creative businesses can just start up, when in fact it takes a while for an entire ecosystem to actually generate an industry. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 30 Nov 2007
- What Do You Think?
What Is Management’s Role in Innovation?
Online forum closed. It's an open question whether management, as it is currently practiced, contributes much to creativity and innovation, says HBS professor Jim Heskett. What changes will allow managers, particularly in larger organizations, to add value to the creative process? What do you think? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Oct 2007
- Research & Ideas
Encouraging Dissent in Decision-Making
Our natural tendency to maintain silence and not rock the boat, a flaw at once personal and organizational, results in bad—sometimes deadly—decisions. Think New Coke, The Bay of Pigs, and the Columbia space shuttle disaster, for starters. Here's how leaders can encourage all points of view. Key concepts include: All organized human groups are susceptible to suppression of views deemed contentious or disruptive to an organization's foundational beliefs. Decisions are seldom better for silence, and overcoming that is a key task for the leader of any organization. Candor should be rewarded and incentives designed to encourage opposing points of view. An aware, open, and inquiring senior team is critical to sound decision-making. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 10 Sep 2007
- Research & Ideas
High Note: Managing the Medici String Quartet
As one of the top ensembles in classical music, the Medici String Quartet has enjoyed a long and creative collaboration. But it hasn't always been harmonious. HBS professor Robert Austin explains what innovative businesses can learn about managing creative people. Key concepts include: Businesses emphasize technical mastery and the creation of predictable patterns. The Medici String Quartet aimed for more. The goal of each performance was never to render a piece exactly as the composer intended, but to interpret it in fresh and new ways. Financial pressures for the quartet could be intense. Among musicians, it's an old (but good) joke: How do you become a millionaire as a classical musician? Start as a billionaire. Businesses enjoy the notion that innovation happens when everyone is happy and satisfied. As the quartet proved, harmony comes in unexpected ways. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Sep 2006
- Research & Ideas
The Power of Ordinary Practices
Seemingly mundane things that managers do can have great impact on their workers, says Professor Teresa Amabile. In this conversation with Professor Mike Roberts, she updates her ongoing research on creativity in the workplace by investigating how people's intense inner work lives affect their productivity—and how managers can encourage production. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Mar 2005
- Research & Ideas
The Rise of Innovation in Asia
Asian countries are no longer just a place to get cheap labor or programming skills. Innovation is on the rise. A report from the Harvard Business School Asia Business Conference. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 31 May 2004
- Research & Ideas
How Team Leaders Show Support–or Not
What does a team leader do so that employees know they are being supported? A Q&A with HBS professor and creativity expert Teresa Amabile about new research. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 29 Jul 2002
- Research & Ideas
Time Pressure and Creativity: Why Time is Not on Your Side
Even as time pressures increase in corporate life, the need for creative thinking has never been greater, says Harvard Business School professor Teresa Amabile. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 09 Oct 2001
- Research & Ideas
Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Organizations
Exclusive! In this first look at a new book, HBS professors Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria explore how human nature shapes business organizations. Does your organization reflect the four basic human drives? Plus: Q&A. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 Jul 2001
- Research & Ideas
How One Center of Innovation Lost its Spark
It's no secret that innovation is what has always made places like Silicon Valley and Hollywood so special. Creativity and expertise centered in one location, it seems, spurs yet more innovation at ever increasing speeds. But what happens when the well runs dry? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 30 Apr 2001
- Research & Ideas
Why Evolutionary Software Development Works
What is the best way to develop software? HBS professor Alan MacCormack discusses recent research proving the theory that the best approach is evolutionary. In this article from MIT Sloan Management Review, MacCormack and colleagues Marco Iansiti and Roberto Verganti uncover four practices that lead to successful Internet software development. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Mar 2001
- Research & Ideas
The Essentials for Enlightened Experimentation
In the past, the high cost of experimentation has greatly impacted many firms' ability to successfully innovate. But now, new technologies are enabling reinvention of R&D from the ground up. HBS associate professor Stefan Thomke explains. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Feb 2001
- Research & Ideas
John Irving’s Lessons for Business
John Irving might seem an unlikely candidate to teach managers and business leaders how to foster creativity in their organizations. Not so, found HBS professor Teresa Amabile. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
Sharpening Your Skills: Motivation
Can employers motivate employees to work more creatively, ethically, or productively? Or does that power reside solely within the individual? Recent research at Harvard Business School suggests workers can be motivated by their environment. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.