In dealing with creativity in an organizational context one of the themes academics have struggled with in their research is how to understand the impact of culture, specifically national culture, on individual creativity. To draw this link has been especially problematic, but in the article The Impact of Culture on Creativity: How Cultural Tightness and Cultural Distance Affect Global Innovation Crowdsourcing Work the researchers (Roy Y. J. Chua, Yannig Roth, and Jean-Francxois Lemoine) have suggested a very fundamental and clear cut linkage between “cultural tightness” (meaning: “the extent to which a country is characterized by strong social norms and low tolerance for deviant behaviors”) and creativity.
They find that individuals from tight cultures are less likely to successful engage in “foreign creative tasks” than individuals from loose cultures. The authors elaborate in detail the relationship, but at it’s core this is a superb academic study that highlights a countries culture can impact individual creativity.
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Hints from Academia is BLG’s effort to highlight those academic pieces we feel offer special insights and guidance to the world of practice.
