Publications

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January 1996
Background Note

The Motivation for Creativity in Organizations

People will be most creative when they feel motivated primarily by the interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, and challenge of the work itself--when they are driven by a deep involvement in their work and a passion for it. This note describes the ways in which creativity... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Managerial Roles; Organizations; Creativity; Motivation and Incentives; Satisfaction

Educators

14 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 14

help-friendly organization has to be actively nurtured, however, because helpfulness among colleagues does not arise automatically: competition, pride, or distrust may get in the way. The trickiness of this management challenge-to increase a discretionary behavior that... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Jul 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, July 18, 2017

concerns to the company’s management, including in regard to corporate culture and the ethical behavior of Zantech’s competition, is provided. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52849 In Pursuit of Everyday Creativity By: Amabile, View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 5, 2018

across countries. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52239 2018 The Nature of Human Creativity Creativity and the Labor of Love By: Amabile, Teresa M. Abstract—This book provides an overview of the... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

01 Feb 1997
News

Shaping the Future of Business: Entrepreneurial Evolution at HBS

case-method style of teaching explain much of the subsequent entrepreneurial success enjoyed by HBS alumni; certainly the real-world record of achievement compiled by HBS graduates would seem to bear that... View Details

Keywords: Nancy O. Perry and Susan Young; profiles by Garry Emmons

2012
Working Paper

Componential Theory of Creativity

The componential theory of creativity is a comprehensive model of the social and psychological components necessary for an individual to produce creative work. The theory is grounded in a definition of creativity as the production of ideas or outcomes that are both... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Theory; Social Psychology; Organizational Culture

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Organizational Behavior - Doctoral

University, Questrom School of Business, Management and Organizations Advisors: Julie Battilana (Chair), Lakshmi Ramarajan , and Daniel Schneider Jeff Steiner, 2023 New York University, Stern School of Business, Assistant Adjunct Professor Advisors: Lakshmi Ramarajan... View Details

January 1996
Background Note

Creativity and Innovation in Organizations

Creativity, the production of new and useful ideas by individuals or teams, can appear in many forms and many functions within firms of all kinds--from entrepreneurial start-ups to well-established enterprises. This note describes the varieties of creativity in... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Entrepreneurship; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Organizational Design; Situation or Environment; Creativity

Educators

2016
Article

The Dynamic Componential Model of Creativity and Innovation in Organizations: Making Progress, Making Meaning

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Michael G. Pratt

Leveraging insights gained through a burgeoning research literature over the past 28 years, this paper presents a significant revision of the model of creativity and innovation in organizations published in Research in Organizational Behavior in 1988. This... View Details

Keywords: Progress; Meaningful Work; Affect; Creativity; Organizations; Innovation and Invention; Motivation and Incentives

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September 2020
Article

Creativity, Artificial Intelligence, and a World of Surprises

In recent years, progress has been made toward AI Creativity, which I define as the production of highly novel, yet appropriate, ideas, problem solutions, or other outputs by autonomous machines. I argue that organizational researchers of creativity and innovation... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; AI Creativity; Computer Science; Organizational Behavior; Psychology; Creativity; Technological Innovation; AI and Machine Learning

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Health Care Initiative - Health Care

2025 | Harvard Gazette How to Gently Stop Someone Who Talks Way Too Much Re: Alison Wood Brooks 13 Apr 2025 | Washington Post Mel Robbins’ 7-Day Reset (That’s Backed By Science) Re: Teresa View Details

Article

What Really Motivates Workers

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Steve J. Kramer

This essay appears in "The HBR List: Breakthrough Ideas for 2010," which is compiled by this journal in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The ten problems and the innovative solutions are discussed in each essay. This particular essay describes research... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Innovation and Invention; Research; Performance Improvement; Managerial Roles; Motivation and Incentives; Creativity

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