Experiencing Creativity in Organisations: A Practice Approach

In this paper I ask the question: What is the practice of creativity in organisations? I draw on “practice” theories to define creativity at the individual level as novel and appropriate ways of accomplishing tasks, and at the organisational level as the operating logic and internalised dispositions that inform activities. By integrating the two levels, I suggest that we are better able to understand the dynamics of creativity. Empirically I investigate creativity in a large UK supermarket retailer undergoing major change and transformation. My study reveals four domains of contestation that characterise the practice of creativity: intrinsic-extrinsic motivation; pleasure-control; organisational politics; and personal-corporate morality. I discuss how managers experience the tensions within each domain and argue that personal morality plays an important role in enabling creativity.