Creativity of student information system projects: From the perspective of network embeddedness

Many companies have pursued innovation to obtain a competitive edge. Thus, educational reform focuses mainly on training creative students. This study adopted the concept of an affiliated network of projects to investigate how project embeddedness influences project team creativity. This work surveys 60 projects in a Management Information Systems Department of a University. Validity of the specific study hypotheses is tested by using moderate hierarchical regression analysis to determine how project embeddedness affects project team creativity and assess how the team innovation climate moderates the relationships between project embeddedness and project team creativity. Analytical results indicate a positive association between structural embeddedness and project team creativity, a negative relationship between positional embeddedness and project team creativity, and a positive influence of team innovation climate on the relationships between network embeddedness and project team creativity. An attempt is also made to understand the role of positional embeddedness by classifying the interactions based on the content of interactions. According to those results, positional embeddedness is positively related to project team creativity during problem-identification interaction; during solution-design interaction, positional embeddedness is negatively related to project team creativity. Results of this study explain the phenomena of divergent thinking and convergent thinking during creative development.

[1]  G. Ekvall.  Organizational climate for creativity and innovation , 1996 .

[2]  Neil Selwyn,et al.  Primary school children's use of ICT , 2000, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[3]  A. Portes.  Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology , 1998 .

[4]  Jennifer M. George,et al.  Personality, affect, and behavior in groups. , 1990 .

[5]  Weiping Hu,et al.  A scientific creativity test for secondary school students , 2002 .

[6]  Scott D. Johnson,et al.  Team development and group processes of virtual learning teams , 2002, Comput. Educ..

[7]  Gilly Salmon,et al.  Mirror, mirror, on my screen≡ Exploring online reflections , 2002, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[8]  Mark Atlay,et al.  Use of creative space in enhancing students’ engagement , 2008 .

[9]  P. Bonacich.  Power and Centrality: A Family of Measures , 1987, American Journal of Sociology.

[10]  Eric S. Raymond,et al.  The cathedral and the bazaar - musings on Linux and Open Source by an accidental revolutionary , 2001 .

[11]  L. James,et al.  rwg: An assessment of within-group interrater agreement. , 1993 .

[12]  John Wedman,et al.  A computer-mediated support system for project-based learning , 1998 .

[13]  J. George,et al.  When Job Dissatisfaction Leads to Creativity: Encouraging the Expression of Voice , 2001 .

[14]  Phillip Bonacich,et al.  Simultaneous group and individual centralities , 1991 .

[15]  David Gurteen,et al.  Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation , 1998, J. Knowl. Manag..

[16]  G. R. Oldham,et al.  Employee Creativity: Personal and Contextual Factors at Work , 1996 .

[17]  J. Brown,et al.  Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation , 1991 .

[18]  Katherine Faust.  Centrality in affiliation networks , 1997 .

[19]  Heng-Li Yang,et al.  Creative self-efficacy and its factors: An empirical study of information system analysts and programmers , 2009, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[20]  S. Ghoshal,et al.  Social Capital and Value Creation: The Role of Intrafirm Networks , 1998 .

[21]  Shane Dawson,et al.  A Study of the Relationship between Student Social Networks and Sense of Community , 2008, J. Educ. Technol. Soc..

[22]  Jerry Andriessen,et al.  Learning through synchronous electronic discussion , 2000, Comput. Educ..

[23]  Douglas R. Anderson.  Creative Teachers: Risk, Responsibility, and Love , 2002 .

[24]  L. Freeman.  Centrality in social networks conceptual clarification , 1978 .

[25]  Frances J. Milliken,et al.  Searching for Common Threads: Understanding the Multiple Effects of Diversity in Organizational Groups , 1996 .

[26]  Scott G. Isaksen,et al.  Curriculum Planning for Creative Thinking and Problem Solving. , 1985 .

[27]  S. Wheeler,et al.  Promoting creative thinking through the use of ICT , 2002, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[28]  C. Shalley,et al.  The Social Side of Creativity: A Static and Dynamic Social Network Perspective , 2003 .

[29]  E. Soloway,et al.  A Collaborative Model for Helping Middle Grade Science Teachers Learn Project-Based Instruction , 1994, The Elementary School Journal.

[30]  J. Guisasola,et al.  Spanish Teachers' Views of the Goals of Science Education in Secondary Education , 2002 .

[31]  Andrew B. Hargadon,et al.  Technology brokering and innovation in a product development firm. , 1997 .

[32]  Ricky W. Griffin,et al.  Toward a Theory of Organizational Creativity , 1993 .

[33]  Alistair Morgan,et al.  Theoretical Aspects of Project-Based Learning in Higher Education. , 1983 .

[34]  Gary L. Lilien,et al.  Location, Location, Location: How Network Embeddedness Affects Project Success in Open Source Systems , 2006, Manag. Sci..

[35]  George Kuk,et al.  The team climate inventory (TCI) - four or five factors? Testing the structure of TCI in samples of low and high complexity jobs , 1997 .

[36]  Harry Nyström,et al.  Creativity and Innovation , 1979 .

[37]  Paul S. Goodman,et al.  Understanding groups in organizations. , 1987 .

[38]  Ming-Huei Chen.  Understanding the Benefits and Detriments of Conflict on Team Creativity Process , 2006 .

[39]  Susan M. Land,et al.  Project-based learning with the world wide web: A qualitative study of resource integration , 2000 .

[40]  P. Bonacich.  Factoring and weighting approaches to status scores and clique identification , 1972 .

[41]  Barry D. Davidson,et al.  Social networks, communication styles, and learning performance in a CSCL community , 2007, Comput. Educ..

[42]  Michael A. West,et al.  The social psychology of innovation in groups. , 1990 .

[43]  Katia Passerini,et al.  A developmental model for distance learning using the Internet , 2000 .

[44]  Edward O. Laumann,et al.  Community Structure as Interorganizational Linkages , 1978 .

[45]  J. Neter,et al.  Applied Linear Regression Models , 1983 .

[46]  Etienne Wenger,et al.  Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation , 1991 .

[47]  Andrew B. Hargadon,et al.  Brainstorming groups in context: Effectiveness in a product design firm , 1996 .

[48]  Tim O'Reilly,et al.  What is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software , 2007 .

[49]  Jan Kratzer,et al.  Virtuality, communication, and new product team creativity: a social network perspective , 2003 .

[50]  Heng-Li Yang,et al.  Team structure and team performance in IS development: a social network perspective , 2004, Inf. Manag..

[51]  Chitu Okoli,et al.  Investigating recognition-based performance in an open content community: A social capital perspective , 2007, Inf. Manag..

[52]  Starr Roxanne Hiltz,et al.  Learning Networks: A Field Guide to Teaching and Learning Online , 1995 .

[53]  M. West,et al.  Innovation and creativity at work::Psychological and organizational strategies , 1992 .

[54]  L. L. Cummings,et al.  Leadership, Participation and Group Behavior , 1990 .

[55]  S. Scott,et al.  DETERMINANTS OF INNOVATIVE BEHAVIOR: A PATH MODEL OF INDIVIDUAL INNOVATION IN THE WORKPLACE , 1994 .

[56]  Peter V. Marsden,et al.  Introducing Influence Processes into a System of Collective Decisions , 1981, American Journal of Sociology.

[57]  Helen Tomlinson,et al.  Computer supported collaborative learning in schools: a distributed approach , 1995, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[58]  Deborah Compeau,et al.  Computer Self-Efficacy: Development of a Measure and Initial Test , 1995, MIS Q..

[59]  Teresa M. Amabile,et al.  Motivating Creativity in Organizations: On Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do , 1997 .

[60]  Qing Li.  Exploration of Collaborative Learning and Communication in an Educational Environment Using Computer-Mediated Communication , 2002 .

[61]  Michael A. West,et al.  Individual, Climate, and Group Interaction Processes as Predictors of Work Team Innovation , 1995 .

[62]  Stanley Wasserman,et al.  Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications , 1994 .