A Critical Analysis
Trends in the current economic environment indicate a shift from “knowledge based activities to creativity, imagination, entrepreneurship, and innovation” (Oke et al., 2008, p. 56). The 21st century has realized a tremendous increase in business activities and opportunities owing to increased technological innovations and globalization. This has resulted into stiff competition for opportunities in the business world.
The current economic and business worlds are governed by creativity. Entrepreneurs need to be creative in order to remain competitive. Creativity and entrepreneurship are tightly linked to each other.
Without creativity, entrepreneurship cannot be realized. On the other hand, creativity is meaningless if its entrepreneurial opportunities are not exploited.
According to Bilton (2007, p.3), “creativity enables the entrepreneur to act on these opportunities in ways which can enhance a business’s competitiveness, and it can provide the basis for innovation and business growth, as well as impacting on the society positively”. This paper critically analyzes the relationship between entrepreneurship and creativity.
Entrepreneurship occurs in almost all organizations regardless of their size. According to Amabile (1988, p. 3), “entrepreneurship can be defined as the process of creating value for business and social communities by bringing together unique combinations of public and private resources to exploit economic, social, or cultural opportunities in an environment of change”.
On the other hand, “creativity has been viewed as the construction of ideas or products which are new and potentially useful” (Amabile, 1988, p. 3). On the entrepreneurial front, creativity should ensure that the profitability of an innovation in both monetary and social terms is tapped.
Creative ideas can either come from within the organization or from outside the organization. Generally, most entrepreneurs tend to exploit the internal sources of creativity first. Thus, creativity allows an organization to tap opportunities and at the same time adapt to changing environmental conditions.
Innovation, risk taking, and proactiveness have been found to be the main components of entrepreneurship. Amabile (1998, p.4) argues “innovation is the manner in which the entrepreneur searches for new opportunities to a profitable conclusion or the way in which ideas are brought”.
The market place of ideas has stiff competition, and as a result, the viability and profitability of an innovation is determined by not only its novelty, but also its success. On the hand, “risk taking refers to the manner in which innovation is embedded in the organization, society or community” (Amabile, 1998, p.4). Risk taking also influences the willingness of people to invest in opportunities which are likely to succeed.
Moreover, “proactiveness is concerned with making things happen by perseverance, adaptability and by breaking with the established ways of doing things” (Amabile, 1998, p.4). Amabile (1988) argues creativity occurs when individuals seek to respond to environmental or societal needs, and this response may be of low or high frequency.
Morris et al. (2003), notes that such creativity responses are collectively known as creativity intensity. Creativity intensity incorporates the creative behaviour of both individuals and organizations, and society at large. Individual creativity or a team of creative individuals within the organization contribute to the enhancement of the organization’s competitiveness.
Various authors have attempted to highlight the connection between entrepreneurship and creativity. Previous evaluations of the connection between entrepreneurship and creativity focused on scientific interpretations, and the impact of technology and artistic creation.
As a result, the connection between entrepreneurship and creativity revolved around the end product of a creative act. Morris et al. (2003) argues that creative entrepreneurial individuals have a number of unique characteristics. First, such individuals have high self confidence and curiosity. Secondly, they have deep immersion and the drive to achieve.
Besides, Morris et al. (2003) argues that creative individuals are independent minded. On the other hand, Morris et al. (2003) argues that entrepreneurial individuals are self confident, and persevering. Entrepreneurial individuals are driven by the need to achieve and have high energy levels. In addition, calculated risk taking is another key feature of entrepreneurial individuals.
It is evident from Morris et al.’s arguments that creative individuals and entrepreneurial individual have several features in common. In addition, economic growth and employment generation are as a result of entrepreneurial approaches and creativity.
Morris et al. (2003, p.5) indicate “entrepreneurial activity not only requires both a supportive and productive business climate but that it also needs an environment where creativity and innovation can flourish”. Successful business behaviour depends on well developed business and social networks.
Furthermore, having a wide knowledge base and the ability to identify opportunities boosts one’s entrepreneurial and creativity prowess. For example, social networking, which brings together people with the same interests, boosts the possibility of generating new ideas.
In addition, the commercialization of a product or service, or an idea, relies on the ability to integrate creativity and technology. A wide knowledge base is a great resource because it ensures the integration of previously unrelated ideas or domains.
Amabile (1977, p.16) argues “entrepreneurial creativity has been defined as the generation and implementation of novel, appropriate ideas, to establish a new venture”. Amabile (1977) also notes that entrepreneurial creativity often exists before a business has been established and when the business is up and running.
This is due to the fact that entrepreneurial creativity is not only shaped by the individual decision maker, but also by the social world. Furthermore, entrepreneurial creativity is determined by various external and internal factors.
“Entrepreneur activity requires a combination of intrinsic motivation and certain kinds of extrinsic motivation; a motivational synergy that results when strong levels of personal interest and involvement are combined with the promise of rewards that confirm competence, support skill development, and enable future achievements” (Amabile, 1977), p.18). Sometimes entrepreneurship requires making tough decisions.
Such decision relies heavily on an organization’s resources and an individual’s intrusion, which in turn shapes one’s creativity. An entrepreneur must have strong leadership qualities if he or he wishes to shape the business and the motivate organization’s employees. In addition, the achievement of this goal requires the combination of strong leadership skills and creative thinking.
As mentioned earlier, the input of creativity might require the contribution of either an individual or a team. Organizations which flourish have recognized the fact that creative achievement has to be nurtured within the organization.
In addition, there must be an interaction between intuition and creative problem solving in order to enhance business entrepreneurship. Intuition is a key aspect with regard to conducting successful businesses. Creative organizations have been found to have individuals reach in ideas. In addition, such individuals have innovative leadership and open communication. Some experts consider creativity as competitive strength which is required by small and medium sized organizations for successful operation.
Others consider creativity as an entrepreneurial attribute. Entrepreneurial management is an essential aspect of business management and it has a significant influence on creativity. Entrepreneurial management provides a suitable working environment in which creative individuals and teams function.
Morris et al. (2003, p.25) argues “the dimensions of agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness, general cognitive ability and openness impact on an individual’s behaviours which then influence individual and group level creativity”. Morris et al. (2003) further argues that people in an organization have different styles of creativity.
Some individuals have an adaptive style of creativity while others have an innovative style of creativity. A few individuals have both adaptive and innovative styles of creativity. Thus, Morris et al. (2003, p.11) “propose that in an entrepreneurial firm environment, higher levels of challenging existing thinking will occur and that any boundaries will be stretched or even broken”.
Morris et al. (2003) hold the opinion that an organization ought to have both adaptive and innovative individuals. Creative adaptation provides an opportunity to reconstruct existing ideas and concepts. On the other hand, innovative creativity enhances the invention of fresh and different concepts.
Morris et al. (2003, p.34) argue “entrepreneurial characteristics such as flexibility, visualization, and imagination all play a significant role in an individual’s ability to see new possibilities of applying past experiences and constructing alternative strategic directions”.
Organizations need to have flexible working conditions since individual and team creativity depend on the availability of a conducive working environment. Morris et al. (2003) argue that owing to their small size, small firms are more flexible than large corporations and that realizing creative ideas is easier in small firms.
In addition, an entrepreneur should critique existing practices, and implement the necessary changes at the correct time. According to Bilton (2007), the link between creativity and entrepreneurship begins with one’s creative potential. This depends on the ability of an individual to generate and then exploit novel and valuable ideas.
The entrepreneurial function implies “the discovery, assessment and exploitation of opportunities, in other words, new products, services or production processes; new strategies and organizational forms and new markets for products and inputs that did not previously exist” (Amabile 1996, p. 45).
On the other hand, it plays a significant role in technical innovation. Creativity may sound a bit like adaptability, and these two things are related. According to Amabile (1996, p. 45) “creativity is central to and inseparable from the entrepreneurial process, thus it should be noted that creative thinking is an essential entrepreneurial skill”.
In addition, “creativity and innovation are essential for the survival and continued growth and success, with frequent references to initial business ideas, and subsequent flow of new ideas for products and services, creative solutions to problems and innovative business processes” (Bilton, 2007, p. 89).
In summary, this paper has noted that trends in the current economic environment indicate a shift from “knowledge based activities to creativity, imagination, entrepreneurship, and innovation” (Oke et al., 2008, p. 56). The 21st century has realized a tremendous increase in business activities and opportunities owing to increased technological innovations and globalization.
According to Bilton (2007, p.3), “creativity enables the entrepreneur to act on these opportunities in ways which can enhance a business’s competitiveness, and it can provide the basis for innovation and business growth, as well as impacting on the society positively”. Entrepreneurship occurs in almost all organizations regardless of their size.
According to Amabile (1988, p. 3), “entrepreneurship can be defined as the process of creating value for business and social communities by bringing together unique combinations of public and private resources to exploit economic, social, or cultural opportunities in an environment of change”.
On the other hand, “creativity has been viewed as the construction of ideas or products which are new and potentially useful” (Amabile, 1988, p. 3). On the entrepreneurial front, creativity should ensure that the profitability of an innovation in both monetary and social terms is tapped.
Creative ideas can either come from within the organization or from outside the organization. Innovation, risk taking, and proactiveness have been found to be the main components of entrepreneurship. Morris et al. (2003) argue that creative entrepreneurial individuals have a number of unique characteristics. First, such individuals have high self confidence are curiosity.
Secondly, they have deep immersion and the drive to achieve. Besides, Morris et al. (2003) argues that creative individuals are independent minded. On the other hand, Morris et al (2003) argues that entrepreneurial individuals are self confident, and persevering. Creativity is seen as competitive strength which is required by small and medium sized organizations for successful operation.
Entrepreneurial individuals are driven by the need to achieve and have high energy levels. In addition, calculated risk taking is another key feature of entrepreneurial individuals. The current economic and business worlds are governed by creativity.
On the entrepreneurial front, creativity should ensure that the profitability of an innovation in both monetary and social terms is tapped. Thus, it can be argued that creativity is essential to entrepreneurship.
References
Amabile, T. (1988). A Model of Creativity and Innovation in Organisations. Colorado: JAI Press.
Amabile, T. (1996). Creativity in Context. Colorado: Westview publishers.
Bilton, C. (2007). Management and Creativity: From Creative Industries to Creative Management. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Morris, M. (2003). The Emergence of Entrepreneurial Marketing: Nature and Meaning. Chicago: University of Illinois.
Oke et al. A. M. (2009). The Influence of Leadership on Innovation Processes and Activities. Organizational Dynamics, 38(1), 50-64.