Managing Creativity

Current times are defined by rapidly changing environments, critical consumers and revolutionary changes in the dissemination of cultural content. These factors have made creativity a primary source of value for many companies. This study aims to investigate the implications of these changes for the ways in which we organize work. To what extent do changes in microeconomics –at the level of organizations- reflect the changes in the economy at large? To answer this question, a close understanding of the dynamic relation between creativity, motivation and management is crucial. In this thesis, the socio-psychological dimensions of creativity are addressed. A social psychology of creativity specifies the characteristics of environment and social setting that influence the creativity of individuals. Motivation is generally held to function as a mediator between external events and creative performance. To understand the conditions under which motivation in- or decreases, economic and psychological approaches to explain behavior will be addressed. The study further aims to answer the primary question of this thesis: what are the organizational implications of Motivation Crowding Effects on creative professionals? In addition: are managers of creative professionals aware of the crowding effects of managerial control on creativity, and if so, how do these creative companies achieve coordination of work without explicit managerial control? By means of in-depth interviews, the key themes that represent some of the critical challenges in the management of creativity will be discussed, as well as relevant variations in interpretative discourses between creative professionals and managers, in order to account for crucial differences of values between these groups.