Drawing Snow White and Animating Buzz Lightyear: Technological Toolkit Characteristics and Creativity in Cross-Disciplinary Teams

Mannucci, P V (2017) Drawing Snow White and Animating Buzz Lightyear: Technological Toolkit Characteristics and Creativity in Cross-Disciplinary Teams. Organization Science, 28 (4). pp. 711-728. ISSN 1047-7039 OPEN ACCESS

Abstract

The use of technological tools to execute creative tasks is pervasive within cross-disciplinary teams, yet little attention has been paid to their role in influencing team creativity. In particular, no research has focused on how the characteristics of a team’s technological toolkit – the set of technological tools a team can draw upon to construct its actions – can affect team creativity. I propose that considering the toolkit, rather than just isolated tools, and the multiple functions played by tools is critical to understand how technology characteristics influence team creativity. I hypothesize that creativity in cross-disciplinary teams is influenced by the size and field diffusion of the team toolkit, with size having a curvilinear relationship with creativity, and diffusion having a positive relationship. Moreover, I hypothesize that these effects will be mitigated when the number of team members who are experts with the focal tool is high. I test and find support for these hypotheses in a study set in the context of the Hollywood animation industry, a knowledge-intensive industry characterized by the presence of cross-disciplinary teams using a variety of technological tools. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

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Item Type: Article
Subject Areas: Organisational Behaviour
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© 2017 INFORMS

Date Deposited: 29 Mar 2017 10:45
Date of first compliant deposit: 29 Mar 2017
Subjects: Team management
Creativity
Last Modified: 21 Nov 2024 02:46
URI: https://lbsresearch.london.edu/id/eprint/805
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