A benchmarking study on organizational creativity practices in high tecnology industries

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide a benchmarking list of initiatives that deal with the development of corporate or organizational creativity and innovation in the emerging sectors of bio-technology, nano-technologies, information and communication technologies, and eco-innovation, together with companies of other sectors, perceived as good examples of organizational innovation. Twenty one interviews were conducted with top management in these organizations. The interviews were made by telephone, addressing specific strategies in three domains: creative management, creative people management, and creativity management. Results indicate that high technology organizations, dependent upon financial support, do not seem to concentrate on corporate innovation, and do not have alternatives to budget reductions made in R&D, due to the present financial crisis, in order to innovate. The remaining companies provided several suggestions as to the way corporate innovation systems can be built and sustained within the framework of the future European innovation policies, devoted to workforce development, the service sector and the SMEs.