Relationship between organizational communication and creativity: how it advances in rigid structures?
Abstract
A growing number of research papers present systematic investigations of creative behaviour in complex social systems rather than emphasise individual creativity; however, surprisingly little has been done to investigate communication at the workplace in which such creativity is revealed. It should also be noted that communication that takes place in rigid organizational structures and simultaneously activates creativity is phenomenon that has not yet been analysed. This article discusses organizational communication and its impact on creativity by analysing corporate, team and leadership communication levels, taking military as a research context. Thus, this research addresses the following two questions: (i) how is organizational communication related to creativity? and (ii) how communication on different levels contribute to organizational creativity in rigid structures? To answer these questions a theoretical multi-factor model was created and empirically tested using AMOS Software. On the basis of empirical findings, a three-level model of organizational communication for creativity in rigid organizational structures was proposed.
Article in English.
Organizacinės komunikacijos ir kūrybiškumo santykis: kaip jis plėtojamas uždarose struktūrose?
Santrauka
Vis daugiau mokslininkų kūrybišką elgesį analizuoja sudėtingose socialinėse sistemose ir atsisako siauro požiūrio į individo kūrybiškumą; kartu kūrybiškumas darbo vietoje, t. y. aplinkoje, kurioje jis gimsta, yra mažai nagrinėjamas. Kūrybiškumas, kaip organizacijos fenomenas, uždarose organizacinėse struktūrose nėra tiriamas apskritai. Kad būtų užpildyta ši mokslo žinių spraga, organizacinis kūrybiškumas šiame straipsnyje analizuojamas kariuomenės kontekste. Straipsnyje tiriama organizacinė komunikacija ir jos poveikis kūrybiškumui. Organizacinė komunikacija tyrime išskaidoma į tris lygmenis: korporacinį, komandos ir vadovo-pavaldinio. Straipsnyje nagrinėjami du klausimai: 1) kaip komunikacija yra susijusi su kūrybiškumu; 2) kaip komunikacija skirtingais lygmenimis prisideda prie organizacinio kūrybiškumo uždarose hierarchinėse struktūrose. Atsakant į šiuos klausimus buvo sukurtas teorinis daugiafaktoris modelis, kuris empiriškai patikrintas naudojant AMOS programą. Remiantis empiriniais duomenimis, buvo pasiūlytas trijų lygių organizacinės komunikacijos modelis, skirtas kūrybiškumui skatinti uždarose organizacinėse struktūrose.
Reikšminiai žodžiai: korporacinė komunikacija, komunikacija tarp vadovo ir pavaldinio, kariuomenė, organizacinė komunikacija, organizacinis kūrybiškumas, komunikacija grupėje.
Keyword : corporate communication, leadership communication, organizational communication, organizational creativity, team communication
How to Cite
Smaliukienė, R., & Survilas, A. (2018). Relationship between organizational communication and creativity: how it advances in rigid structures?. Creativity Studies, 11(1), 230-243. https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2018.4004
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Mumford, M. D., & Licuanan, B. (2004). Leading for innovation: conclusions, issues, and directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 15(1), 163-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2003.12.010
Negus, K., & Pickering, M. (2004). Creativity, communication and cultural value. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: SAGE Publications.
Omilion-Hodges, L. M., & Ackerman, C. D. (2018). From the technical know-how to the free flow of ideas: exploring the effects of leader, peer, and team communication on employee creativity. Communication Quarterly, 66(1), 38-57. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2017.1325385
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Sadia, A., Mohd Salleh, B., Abdul Kadir, Z., & Sanif, S. (2016). The relationship between organizational communication and employees productivity with new dimensions of effective communication flow. Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies, 2(2), 93-100. https://doi.org/10.26710/jbsee.v2i2.35
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Saris, W. E., & Revilla, M. (2016). Correction for measurement errors in survey research: necessary and possible. Social Indicators Research, 127(3), 1005-1020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-1002-x
Smaliukienė, R., Bekešienė, S., Chlivickas, E., & Magyla, M. (2017). Explicating the role of trust in knowledge sharing: a structural equation model test. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 18(4), 758-778. https://doi.org/10.3846/16111699.2017.1317019
Srivastava, A., Bartol, K. M., & Locke, E. A. (2006). Empowering leadership in management teams: effects on knowledge sharing, efficacy, and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 49(6), 1239-1251. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2006.23478718
Stempfle, J., & Badke-Schaub, P. (2002). Thinking in design teams – an analysis of team communication. Design Studies, 23(5), 473-496. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0142-694X(02)00004-2
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Vego, M. (2013). On military creativity. Joint Force Quarterly, 70(3), 83-90.
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Woodman, R. W., Sawyer, J. E., & Griffin, R. W. (1993). Toward a theory of organizational creativity. The Academy of Management Review, 18(2), 293-321. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1993.3997517
Zhang, X., & Bartol, K. M. (2010). The influence of creative process engagement on employee creative performance and overall job performance: a curvilinear assessment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(5), 862-873. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020173
Auernhammer, J., & Hall, H. (2014). Organizational culture in knowledge creation, creativity and innovation: towards the Freiraum model. Journal of Information Science, 40(2), 154-166. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551513508356
Baranski, J. V., Thompson, M. M., Lichacz, F. M. J., McCann, C., Gil, V., Pastò, L., & Pigeau, R. A. (2007). Effects of sleep loss on team decision making: motivational loss or motivational gain? Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 49(4), 646-660. https://doi.org/10.1518/001872007X215728
Boies, K., Fiset, J., & Gill, H. (2015). Communication and trust are key: unlocking the relationship between leadership and team performance and creativity. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(6), 1080-1094. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.07.007
Borghini, S. (2005). Organizational creativity: breaking equilibrium and order to innovate. Journal of Knowledge Management, 9(4), 19-33. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270510610305
Byrne, B. M. (2016). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: basic concepts, applications, and programming. Series: Multivariate Applications Series. New York, London: Routledge.
Chen, M.-H., & Agrawal, S. (2017). Do communication barriers in student teams impede creative behavior in the long run? – a time-lagged perspective. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 26, 154-167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2017.10.008
Cooren, F., Kuhn, T., Cornelissen, J. P., & Clark, T. (2011). Communication, organizing and organization: an overview and introduction to the special issue. Organization Studies, 32(9), 1149-1170. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840611410836
Donati, S., Zappalà, S., & González-Romá, V. (2016). The influence of friendship and communication network density on individual innovative behaviours: a multilevel study. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 25(4), 583-596. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2016.1179285
Duncan, H. D. (2002). Communication and social order. New Brunswick, London: Transaction Publishers. Fann Thomas, G., Zolin, R., & Hartman, J. L. (2009). The central role of communication in developing trust and its effect on employee involvement. Journal of Business Communication, 46(3), 287-310. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021943609333522
Furtado, M. (2017). Creativity in complex military systems. Fort Leavenworth: School for Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College.
Garson, G. D. (2012). Testing statistical assumptions. Series: Blue Book Series. Asheboro, NC: Statistical Associates Publishing.
Jaccard, J., & Wan, Ch. K. (1996). LISREL approaches to interaction effects in multiple regression. Series: Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences. M. S. Lewis-Beck (Series Ed.). Vol. 114. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412984782
Johnsson, M. (2017). Innovation enablers for innovation teams – a review. Journal of Innovation Management, 5(3), 75-121.
Kratzer, J., Gemünden, H. G., & Lettl, Ch. (2008). Balancing creativity and time efficiency in multi-team R&D projects: the alignment of formal and informal networks. R&D Management, 38(5), 538-549. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9310.2008.00528.x
Linder, Ch., & Sperber, S. (2017). If what you want is not what you get: a communication-based approach to top managers’ intended firm creativity and employees’ failure to deliver. European Management Review, 14(3), 227-246. https://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12104
Ma, J., & Wu, Zh. (2017). A study on team-based learning based on WeChat public platform: the case of design and implementation of Mass Media Management course. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(11), 7307-7312. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/79602
Malhotra, N., & Ackfeldt, A.-L. (2016). Internal communication and prosocial service behaviors of front-line employees: investigating mediating mechanisms. Journal of Business Research, 69(10), 4132-4139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.03.038
Mascia, D., Magnusson, M., & Björk, J. (2015). The role of social networks in organizing ideation, creativity and innovation: an introduction. Creativity and Innovation Management, 24(1), 102-108. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12111
Mayfield, M., & Mayfield, J. (2017). Leader talk and the creative spark: a research note on how leader motivating language use influences follower creative environment perceptions. International Journal of Business Communication, 54(2), 210-225. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488416687057
Mumford, M. D. (2000). Managing creative people: strategies and tactics for innovation. Human Resource Management Review, 10(3), 313-351. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1053-4822(99)00043-1
Mumford, M. D., & Licuanan, B. (2004). Leading for innovation: conclusions, issues, and directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 15(1), 163-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2003.12.010
Negus, K., & Pickering, M. (2004). Creativity, communication and cultural value. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: SAGE Publications.
Omilion-Hodges, L. M., & Ackerman, C. D. (2018). From the technical know-how to the free flow of ideas: exploring the effects of leader, peer, and team communication on employee creativity. Communication Quarterly, 66(1), 38-57. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2017.1325385
Raelin, J. A. (2016). Imagine there are no leaders: reframing leadership as collaborative agency. Leadership, 12(2), 131-158. . https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715014558076
Redmond, S. A., Wilcox, S. L., Campbell, S., Kim, A., Finney, K., Barr, K., & Hassan, A. M. (2015). A brief introduction to the military workplace culture. Work, 50(1), 9-20.
Ruler, van B., & Lange, de R. (2003). Barriers to communication management in the executive suite. Public Relations Review, 29(2), 145-158. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0363-8111(03)00017-1
Ruben, B. D., & Gigliotti, R. A. (2016). Leadership as social influence: an expanded view of leadership communication theory and practice. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 23(4), 467-479. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051816641876
Ruppel, C. P., & Harrington, S. J. (2000). The relationship of communication, ethical work climate, and trust to commitment and innovation. Journal of Business Ethics, 25(4), 313-328. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006290432594
Sadia, A., Mohd Salleh, B., Abdul Kadir, Z., & Sanif, S. (2016). The relationship between organizational communication and employees productivity with new dimensions of effective communication flow. Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies, 2(2), 93-100. https://doi.org/10.26710/jbsee.v2i2.35
Saintilan, P., & Schreiber, D. (2017). Managing organizations in the creative economy: organizational behaviour for the cultural sector. Series: Mastering Management in the Creative and Cultural Industries. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315645032
Saris, W. E., & Revilla, M. (2016). Correction for measurement errors in survey research: necessary and possible. Social Indicators Research, 127(3), 1005-1020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-1002-x
Smaliukienė, R., Bekešienė, S., Chlivickas, E., & Magyla, M. (2017). Explicating the role of trust in knowledge sharing: a structural equation model test. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 18(4), 758-778. https://doi.org/10.3846/16111699.2017.1317019
Srivastava, A., Bartol, K. M., & Locke, E. A. (2006). Empowering leadership in management teams: effects on knowledge sharing, efficacy, and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 49(6), 1239-1251. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2006.23478718
Stempfle, J., & Badke-Schaub, P. (2002). Thinking in design teams – an analysis of team communication. Design Studies, 23(5), 473-496. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0142-694X(02)00004-2
Ugnich, E., Chernokozov, A., & Filinkova, E. (2017). Problem of knowledge generation in terms of university innovation ecosystem development. In Proceedings of the 7th International Scientific and Practical Conference “Current Issues of Linguistics and Didactics: The Interdisciplinary Approach in Humanities” (CILDIAH 2017). Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 97, 307-312.
Vego, M. (2013). On military creativity. Joint Force Quarterly, 70(3), 83-90.
VOSviewer. (2018). VOSviewer version 1.6.7. Retrieved from http://www.vosviewer.com/
Wang, Zh., Tjosvold, D., Chen, Y., & Luo, Zh. (2014). Cooperative goals and team performance: examining the effects of advice network. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 31(3), 835-852. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-014-9382-z
Woodman, R. W., Sawyer, J. E., & Griffin, R. W. (1993). Toward a theory of organizational creativity. The Academy of Management Review, 18(2), 293-321. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1993.3997517
Zhang, X., & Bartol, K. M. (2010). The influence of creative process engagement on employee creative performance and overall job performance: a curvilinear assessment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(5), 862-873. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020173