Publications

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2015
Chapter

Entrepreneurial Creativity: The Role of Learning Processes and Work Environment Supports

By: Michele Rigolizzo and Teresa M. Amabile

Keywords: Innovation; Creativity; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention

June 2014
Case

Making Progress at IDEO

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Katrina Flanagan

This case focuses on different types of client relationships at IDEO, the value of these relationships for IDEO and clients, and the implications for IDEO designers' everyday experience of work. As new types of client work have shifted away from the more classic design... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Motivation and Incentives; Employees; Customer Focus and Relationships; Service Industry

2009
Chapter

Stimulate Creativity by Fueling Passion

By: Teresa Amabile and Colin M. Fisher

Keywords: Creativity; Emotions

January 2003 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Satera Team at Imatron Systems, Inc. (A), The

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Elizabeth Schatzel

Escalating conflict has erupted within the Satera product development team, resulting from the conflicting cognitive styles of the two senior mechanical engineers. The conflict has taken a toll on both project progress and team morale, endangering one of the most... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Management; Business or Company Management; Groups and Teams; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

August 2000
Case

Beansprout Networks

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Rasheea Williams

Beansprout Networks is a 3-year-old Internet company designed to foster effective communication between parents and the pediatricians and child-care providers who care for their children. With a significant headstart in the marketplace, it has attracted considerable... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Recruitment; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Health Industry; Information Technology Industry

01 Dec 2011
News

Noted & Quoted

“ Of everything that can engage people deeply in work, the single most important is simply making progress in meaningful work.” —HBS professor Teresa Amabile, discussing her long-range research on what... View Details

Keywords: quotations

Article

When the Thought Doesn’t Count: The Dynamics of Unhelpful Help in Creative Organizations

By: Colin Fisher, Julianna Pillemer and Teresa Amabile

We’ve all been there. You ask a colleague for help with something, maybe a tricky research design or a difficult student. They agree to help, but their assistance misses its mark. You wonder what happened and, if you turn to existing research and theory, you don’t find... View Details

Keywords: Helping; Organizational Culture

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winter 2009
Article

Creativity, Improvisation, and Organizations

By: Colin M. Fisher and Teresa M. Amabile

'Improvisational creativity' involves simultaneously identifying new challenges and generating responses, with little or no time to prepare. View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Organizational Culture; Creativity; Theory; Performance

2017
Working Paper

Deep Help in Complex Project Work: Guiding and Path-Clearing Across Difficult Terrain

By: Colin M. Fisher, Julianna Pillemer and Teresa M. Amabile

How do teams working on complex projects get the help they need? Our qualitative investigation of the help provided to project teams at a prominent design firm revealed two distinct helping processes, both characterized by deep, sustained engagement that far exceeds... View Details

Keywords: Helping; Rhythm; Prosocial Behavior; External Team Leadership; Social Construction; Time; Qualitative Methods; Field Research; Groups and Teams; Projects; Behavior; Social and Collaborative Networks

1 Apr 1995
Conference Presentation

Problem Solving Among Computer Science Students: : The Effects of Skill, Evaluation Expectation, and Personality on Solution Quality

By: R. Conti and Teresa M. Amabile

Keywords: Education; Problems and Challenges; Outcome or Result; Social Psychology; Quality

January 2014
Article

J. Richard Hackman (1940–2013)

By: Ruth Wageman and Teresa M. Amabile

When J. Richard Hackman died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 8, 2013, psychology lost a giant. Six and a half feet tall, with an outsize personality to match, Richard was the leading scholar in two distinct areas: work design and team effectiveness. In both... View Details

Keywords: Social Psychology; Organizational Design; Groups and Teams; Personal Development and Career; Education Industry; Cambridge

January 2012
Article

How Leaders Kill Meaning at Work

By: Teresa Amabile and Steven J. Kramer

Senior executives routinely undermine creativity, productivity, and commitment by damaging the inner work lives of their employees in four avoidable ways. This article is based on analysis of hundreds of work diaries from professionals describing everyday events that... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Creativity; Performance Productivity; Motivation and Incentives; Innovation Strategy; Performance; Strategic Planning; Leading Change; Balanced Scorecard; Mission and Purpose

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January 2004 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Lumen and Absorb Teams at Crutchfield Chemical Engineering, The

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Elizabeth Schatzel

Large discrepancies have developed between two elite technology development teams at Crutchfield Chemical Engineering in terms of motivation and creativity. To investigate, Paul Burke, director of corporate technology development, commissioned a study of the day-by-day... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Managerial Roles; Projects; Groups and Teams; Behavior; Creativity; Motivation and Incentives

20 Dec 2018
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Stories and Research Papers of 2018

wrestle with questions of identity and rebuilding relationships. Teresa Amabile presents preliminary findings on the journey to after-work life. Why You Are Unhappy at Work Sometimes the deck is stacked... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

1 Sep 1979
Conference Presentation

An Examination of the Effects of Verbal Reinforcement on Creativity

By: S. Berglas, Teresa M. Amabile and M. Handel

Keywords: Creativity