Essay Grade

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Case Study: Creative Climate
WORK ENVIRONMENT ALLOWS IDEO TO DELIVER PROMISE OF INNOVATION
Excerpted from Puccio et al. (2011) Creative leadership: Skills that drive change. Los Angeles, CA:
Sage.
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The Challenge
Are Ekvall’s 10 dimensions of a creative
climate present at IDEO?
Pepsi, Nike, Prada and other outstanding
companies knock on your door when they are
in need of an innovative product. Apple calls
on you when they are stuck on a challenge
and need a breakthrough. Your services
promise the creation of breakthrough
solutions, and your entire existence as a
company rests on your ability to deliver
innovation on demand. Are you up for the
challenge and what will it take to succeed?
Creative climate dimensions based on
Ekvall. (1996)
At IDEO:
 Challenge & Involvement:
Brainstorming and other practices encourages all to participate
Reputation & setting big goals challenges IDEOers
Fun design challenges given by leadership
 Freedom:
Freedom to customize workspace with more than just pictures.
Freedom to select projects of most interest
Freedom to have some downtime at work when needed.
 Idea Time:
Brainstorming is considered almost a religion.
Movie and other types of excursions take place
Workspace promotes spontaneous conversations
 Idea Support:
Constant encouragement / coaching by leadership
Easy to get supplies for ideas/concepts
Off project ideas supported i.e. Tech Cart
 Trust & Openness:
Lack of Rules and procedures
Peer evaluations a common practice
Team members interview and help make hiring decisions
The Company
Who could meet the challenges above and
how do they do it? IDEO, the now famous
 Playfulness & Humor:
Practical jokes are common at IDEO
Project teams often give out fun awards
IDEOers are given the permission to play
 Debates: (Viewpoints and ideas are appropriately challenged.)
The Evaluate & Refine step of IDEO’s Innovation process provides time
for discussion of different viewpoints.
design firm headquartered in Palo Alto,
California has created innovative products
and solutions for over 20 years. Because he
disliked corporate rules and was motivated to
create a company that was fun to work for,
David Kelly started what is now IDEO in
 Low conflict: (Little or no presence of interpersonal tension)
Strong efforts are made to blur the lines between management and
workers.
Intensive interviewing occurs to find employees that best fit IDEO’s
culture.
 Risk-Taking:
“Fail often to succeed sooner” motto promoted by leadership
Consistently try new things knowing some failures will occur
 Dynamism:
Past project prototypes appear throughout organization
Flexible workspaces changing continuously with projects
Regular guest speaker events
1978 under the name “David Kelley Design.”
In 1991 Kelley’s company was renamed to IDEO, with a focus on industrial design. Today IDEO
helps companies design innovative products, services and processes, employing approximately 350
people worldwide.
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Since ABC’s Nightline news show reported on IDEO’s innovation process first-hand, the world
has become familiar with their impressive achievements. Fortune magazine described their visit to
IDEO as “A day at Innovation U.” The Wall Street Journal called IDEO “imagination’s
playground.” There is consensus in the business/organizational world that IDEO is a leader in the area
of innovation. What is it that enables them to consistently produce innovative solutions? Do they have
more creative talent? Is it a charismatic leader? Do they have a secret formula?
Cultivating Creative Consistency
If you take a close look at IDEO and examine how they have consistently produced well-known
innovations such as Crest’s Neat Squeeze stand up toothpaste tube, you won’t find any magic bullet.
What you will find is a combination of effective leadership behaviors, creative work environment
practices and a variety of processes that work synergistically together produce a culture that
exemplifies creativity.
Leadership
One of the first clients Kelley worked for was Steve Jobs of Apple. The lessons he learned from this
experience were more valuable than the paycheck he earned from Apple. He was inspired by Apple’s
dynamic culture, and the atmosphere there reinforced his belief that having fun while working could be
productive.
Although founder David Kelly is no longer involved with the day-to-day operations at IDEO,
his early actions set the tone for creativity to flourish. As the founder and early leader, Kelley frowned
on rules. He participated in pranks and other fun antics, all of which made it clear that in his shop it
was ok to be playful. Kelley’s actions influenced the way new and up-coming leaders of IDEO would
behave.
Leaders at IDEO have worked hard to eliminate the “us vs. them” mentality. Traditional
indicators of hierarchy, such as plush corner offices and titles, are missing. Employee performance is
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more important than seniority, and the behavior of IDEO leadership consistently demonstrates that
flexibility is “in” and rigid rules are “out.”
Leaders understand that risk-taking is essential and mistakes will occur. One-way risk-taking is
encouraged and practiced is through in-house design challenges. Unlike a design challenge for paying
customers, these in-house challenges typically have an open timeline and very few criteria. For
example, a challenge was held to see who could design the best solution to a sun glare problem created
by the office skylights. A simple and artistic solution won the “people’s choice” award using
umbrellas dangling upside-down.
Whether it’s modeling the way, helping design the workspace or supporting creative processes,
IDEO leaders keep a focus on inspiring employee imagination and innovation.
Work environment
Because it understands the value of employees, IDEO pays a great deal of attention to the work
environment, both physical and psychological, (emotional). Nothing is out of bounds if it is for a
good cause. One employee built a pulley system to suspend his bike in the air over his workspace to
get it out of the way. It turned out to be such a hit that others followed his lead.
Physically speaking, IDEO’s offices look and feel like a cross between a college dorm, a
daycare playroom and an art studio. Work areas are clustered together in different locations. Mind
Maps and flip chart paper fill up walls. Old and new prototypes lie around or hang from the ceiling,
providing fuel for new innovations. Magazines and unique gadgets are also in abundance throughout
the workspace, providing even more fuel for ideas.
There is some method to their madness. IDEO has learned that having the right size workspace
makes a difference. Too much workspace decreases energy and slightly tight space generates energy.
There are opportunities for spontaneous interactions among people. A studio system, similar to a
movie studio, helps keep work groups small and flexible as the company grows. These studios are
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designed like little neighborhoods, having common areas where people can collaborate and private
areas for solo time. They even have their own distinct personalities. Workspaces are modular and
moveable to accommodate changing projects, new teams or any crazy needs that arise. Most
importantly, employees have the freedom to customize their personal areas beyond the simple family
pictures.
When it comes to the human psyche, the environment at IDEO doesn’t miss a beat. Their
leadership practices reflect an environment where workers are energized, ideas flow, confidence is
high and imagination is plentiful. Some of these practices include allowing employees to select
projects of most interest to them; bringing guest speakers in on a regular basis; providing generous
amount of food and drink for employees and putting on interesting end-of-year work parties. There are
fun project trips and spontaneous excursions to the movies. According Scott Underwood of IDEO,
such practices keep employees sharp and the environment buzzing with energy.
Another very important aspect of IDEO’s creative work environment is the presence of teams.
According to Tom Kelley, “Teams are the heart of the IDEO method.” With a strong belief against
the “lone” inventor, IDEO establishes teams for all types of tasks and projects. By leveraging diverse
knowledge bases, personalities and experiences, IDEO teams generate countless breakthroughs.
Teams provide continuous, open exchange of information and ideas. In many cases employees work
on multiple project teams at one time, which helps promote crossbreeding of ideas. It is also very
common and welcome for people outside a project team to spontaneously drop by and offer ideas
during a brainstorming session.
Processes
Over the last 20 years IDEO has developed a 5-step new product development process that harnesses
the collective imagination of project teams. Not only is the process repeatable, it also compliments and
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strengthens their culture. The five-step process used during most new product development projects
consists of Understand, Observe, Visualize, Evaluate and Refine, and Implement.
• Understand. When taking on a project, IDEO employees try to understand all of its
aspects. This may include such things as the market, the client and /or any possible
constraints.
• Observe. IDEO invests much time and energy into understanding consumer needs and
wants. Conducting real world observations provides a great deal more insight beyond the
typical interview process. For example, observing mountain bikers in action inspired a
water bottle that keeps mud out of a rider’s mouth.
• Visualize. This step is the most brainstorming-intensive. It includes the generation of
many ideas or concepts, some rough prototyping and in some cases even storyboardillustrated scenarios.
• Evaluate and Refine. Supporting one of their company’s mottos, “Fail often to
succeed sooner,” this step is essential for developing well thought out innovations.
Clients, consumers and other IDEOers evaluate and refine some of the key prototyped
concepts.
• Implement.
Moving ideas from concept to commercialization is typically the longest
step in the process.
Implementation one of the most rewarding steps for IDEO
employees because it validates the whole process of making ideas into a reality and
developing innovations.
Brainstorming is a mini process with a significant influence on the IDEO culture. According to
General Manager, Tom Kelley, brainstorming is a crucial activity at IDEO. Although brainstorming
sessions are loose, freewheeling thinking sessions at IDEO, they are also taken seriously. Rules are
not just posted on the walls; they are painted on in big letters. Leaders sometimes join in and always
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support the brainstorming sessions with all types of resources. Because brainstorming is viewed as a
skill, everyone works to continuously improve how well they do it.
Although brainstorming is most evident in the “Visualize” step of IDEO innovation process, it
has a ripple effect throughout the company. It encourages people to collaborate and share ideas even
outside of sessions. Productive brainstorming sessions fire up teams with confidence, optimism and
energy, making it one of the engines behind IDEO’s culture.
What Are the Results?
Having leaders who lead by example, a work environment that frees your mind and flexible processes
that guide you down a repeatable path have established a work culture at IDEO that produces
exceptional results. With thousands of successful products over a 20-year history, it is easy to find
examples of innovation. Although there is not a single factor that causes this innovation, it is clear that
the blending of leadership that actively facilitates creative thinking, a work environment that supports
employee imagination and a product development process that is repeatable, does much to ensure
ongoing innovation.
How successful has IDEO been? Since the beginning, it has never had an unprofitable quarter.
Potential clients are continuously knocking on their door and many are turned away for lack of time.
The turnover ratio for key employees is less that 5%. IDEO has played key roles in the creation of
many well-known innovations including the first consumer computer mouse, the Aerobe Football, and
the Palm V. Their products, such as the Forerunner Portable heart defibrillator, have also saved lives.
As IDEO continues to be recognized for its accomplishments, winning awards, gracing the
cover of popular magazines and, of course, being featured on primetime television, its reputation and
creative legacy grow. The creative climate and commensurate culture are powerful examples of the
bottom-line effectiveness of how creativity and leadership work together.
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Sources:
Site visit & tour, IDEO, (August 5th, 2004).
Interview with Scott Underwood, IDEO, (August 5 th, 2004).
IDEO website Retrieved September, 2004, http://www.ideo.com
Brown, Ed, “A day at Innovation U”, Fortune, Volume 139, Issue 7, Pages 163-165, New York, Apr 12, 1999.
Ekvall, G. (1997). Innovations in organizations. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 5 (1) 105123.
Kelly, T. (2001) The art of innovation: lesson in creativity from IDEO. NY, NY: Doubleday
Tom Peters interview with David Kelley, Retrieved June 6, 2004, www.tompeters.com/cool_friends/friends.php
Tom Peters interview with Tom Kelley, Retrieved June 6, 2004, www.tompeters.com/cool_friends/friends.php
European Journal of Work and
Organizational Psychology
Publication details, including instructions for authors and
subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/pewo20
Organizational climate for creativity and
innovation
Göran Ekvall
a
a
F.A. Institute, and University of Lund, Stockholm, Sweden
Published online: 14 Jan 2008.
To cite this article: Gran Ekvall (1996) Organizational climate for creativity and innovation, European
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5:1, 105-123, DOI: 10.1080/13594329608414845
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13594329608414845
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EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF WORK AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY, 1996,5 ( I ) . 105-123
Organizational Climate for Creativity and Innovation
Goran Ekvall
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F.A. Institute, and University of Lund, Stockholm, Sweden
This article describes an instrument for measuring organizational structure
and climate for creativity and innovation. Its application and validation in
organizational settings is also described. Recommendations are made for
using the instrument to develop interventions to promote organizational
innovation.
THE CLIMATE METAPHOR
The scholarly literature on organizational climate reveals two main contradictions, one about ontological issues (Ekvall, 1987; Guion, 1973; Naylor,
Pritchard, & Ilgen, 1985), the other about scope and inclusion (Ashforth,
1985). The first line of demarcation runs between those theorists who
conceive of climate as a common perception arising from the interaction
between the members of the organization (e.g. Schneider, 1975) and those
for whom climate is an objective property of the organization (e.g. Forehand & Gilmer, 1964; Friedlander & Margulies, 1969). The second demarcation separates those authors who include values, norms, and belief
systems in the climate concept and thus make it identical with organizational culture (e.g. Payne & Pugh, 1976) from those who make a distinction
between climate and culture (e.g. Ashforth, 1985).
In the framework of this article, climate is regarded as an attribute of
the organization, a conglomerate of attitudes, feelings, and behaviours
which characterizes life in the organization, and exists independently of
the perceptions and understandings of the members of the organization.
This conception of climate implies that there is a certain degree of, say,
trust and openness between the members, of commitment and motivation,
of risk-taking mentality, etc. Climate is conceived as an organizational
reality in an “objectivistic” sense (Ekvall, 1987). The framework also
means that organizational climate is not identical to organizational culture.
If climate, in this way of viewing i t , is to be included in a culture m o d e l ,
it should be regarded as a manifestation of culture on what Schein (1985)
Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr G . Ekvall, Flodavagen 8,161 42 Bromma,
Sweden.
01996 Psychology Press, an imprint of Erlbaum (UK) Taylor & Francis Ltd
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EKVALL
has described as the level of “artefacts” including “visible and audible
behavior patterns”.
In the context of organizational processes climate plays the part of an
intervening variable (Fig. 1) which affects the results of the operations of
the organization. The climate has this moderating power because it influences organizational processes such as problem solving, decision making,
communications, co-ordination, controlling, and psychological processes
of learning, creating, motivation, and commitment. The organization has
resources of different kinds-people, money, machines, etc.-which are
used in its processes and operations. These operations result in effects of
many kinds and on different levels of abstraction: high or low quality of
products or services; radically new products or only small improvements
in the old ones; high or low well-being among employees; commercial
profit or loss. Climate exerts a strong influence on these outcomes. But
the effects in turn influence both resources and climate. The causal picture
becomes complicated. Good or bad circular movements are in action.
THE CREATIVE CLIMATE QUESTIONNAIRE (CCQ)
This instrument grew out of a research programme in Sweden during the
1980s concerning organizational conditions that stimulate or hamper
creativity and innovation (Ekvall, 1990). It is a 50-item questionnaire
People
Know-how Matcrial
Buildings Patents
Products
Machinery Funds
Concepts
II
I
FIG. 1, Organizational climate as an intervening variable.
ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE
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covering 10 dimensions of five items each. The dimensions are the results
of several large-factor analytic studies. The item pool on which the questionnaire construction is based came from an interplay between theory,
field research, and experiences of consultancy in organizational psychology. The 10 factors are as follows:
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Challenge. The emotional involvement of the members of the organization in its operations and goals. A high-challenge climate is seen when
the people are experiencing joy and meaningfulness in their job, and,
therefore, they invest much energy. Low challenge means feelings of
alienation and indifference; the common sentiment and attitude is apathy
and lack of interest for the job and the organization.
Freedom. The independence in behaviour exerted by the people in the
organization. In a climate with much of this kind of freedom people make
contacts and give and receive information; discuss problems and alternatives; plan and take initiatives of different kinds; and make decisions. The
opposite climate would include people who are passive, rule-bound and
anxious to stay inside established boundaries.
Idea Support. The ways new ideas are treated. In a supportive climate,
ideas and suggestions are received in an attentive and supportive way by
bosses and workmates. People listen to each other and encourage initiatives. Possibilities for trying out new ideas are created. The atmosphere
is constructive and positive. When idea support is low, the reflexive “no”
prevails. Every suggestion is immediately refuted by a counter-argument.
Fault finding and obstacle raising are the usual styles of responding to ideas.
TrustlOpenness. The emotional safety in relationships. When there is
a strong level of trust, everyone in the organization dares to put forward
ideas and opinions. Initiatives can be taken without fear of reprisal and
ridicule in case of failure. Communication is open and straightfoward.
Where trust is missing, people are suspicious of each other and are wary
of making expensive mistakes. They also are afraid of being exploited and
robbed of their good ideas.
DynamisrnlLiveZiness. The eventfulness of life in the organization. In
the highly dynamic situation, new things are happening all the time and
alterations between ways of thinking about and handling issues often occur.
There is a kind of psychological turbulence which is described by people
in those organizations as “full speed”, “go”, “breakneck”, “maelstrom”,
and the like. The opposite situation could be compared to a slow jog-trot
with no surprises. There are no new projects; no different plans. Everything
goes its usual way.
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EKVALL
PlayfulnesslHumour. The spontaneity and ease that is displayed. A
relaxed atmosphere with jokes and laughter characterizes the organization
which is high in this dimension. The opposite climate is characterized by
gravity and seriousness. The atmosphere is stiff, gloomy, and cumbrous.
Jokes and laughter are regarded as improper.
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Debates. The occurrence of encounters and clashes between viewpoints, ideas, and differing experiences and knowledge. In the debating
organization many voices are heard and people are keen on putting forward
their ideas. Where debates are missing, people follow authoritarian
patterns without questioning.
Conflicts. The presence of personal and emotional tensions (in contrast
to conflicts between ideas) in the organization. When the level of conflict
is high, groups and single individuals dislike each other and the climate
can be characterized by “warfare”. Plots and traps are usual elements in
the life of the organization. There is gossip and slander. In the opposite
case, people behave in a more mature manner; they have psychological
insight and control of impulses.
Risk Taking. The tolerance of uncertainty in the organization. In the
high risk-taking case, decisions and actions are prompt and rapid, arising
opportunities are taken and concrete experimentation is preferred to
detailed investigation and analysis. In a risk-avoiding climate there is a
cautious, hesitant mentality. People try to be on the “safe side”. They
decide “to sleep on the matter”. They set up committees and they cover
themselves in many ways before making a decision.
Idea Time. The amount of time people can use (and do use) for
elaborating new ideas. In the high idea-time situation, possibilities exist to
discuss and test impulses and fresh suggestions that are not planned or
included in the task assignment; and people tend to use these possibilities.
In the reverse case, every minute is booked and specified. The time
pressure makes thinking outside the instructions and planned routines
impossible.
Laurer (1994) has demonstrated that the 10 dimensions of the CCQ are
theoretically supported in the creativity literature. Furthermore, the CCQ
is grounded in some basic construction principles. First of all it is an organizational measure not an individual one. The respondent is addressed as
an observer of life in the organization, asked to tell how people in the
workplace usually behave. He/she is not to report about hidher own
behaviour , nor communicate personal feelings. The questionnaire is thus
not of the attitude or job-satisfaction type. There is no mention of “I” or
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ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE
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“me” in the items. A consequence of the “objectivistic” conception of
climate is that the observer, the respondent, is requested to report on
common behaviour not on common opinions. A typical item is phrased:
“It is common here for people to use their own initiative.” According to
a “subjectivistic” view of climate this item would read: “Most people here
think (or agree) that it is possible to use initiative here.” The aggregation
of the dimension scores of the respondents to an organization score is
achieved by the mean score. This mean score is assumed to reflect the real
climate, which in turn the individual member has to evaluate with hidher
preferences and react to.
The observers, however, tend to perceive and rate the same behavioural
regularities differently due to individual inclinations to overestimate or
underestimate and to react positively or negatively. The aggregated climate
score, the mean score of all the organizational members’ ratings, contains
these biases, but as they differ among the observers in direction and
strength they counterbalance each other. The mean score can therefore be
assumed to constitute a valid measure of the situational variation in climate
terms, as defined previously, between organizations.
Reliability has been studied, as internal consistency of the dimension
scales (coefficient alpha), on several differing samples. Table 1 shows the
coefficients. These are reliability coefficients calculated on the individual
level. They reveal the internal consistency and precision of the respondents’ ratings of the dimensions. Satisfactory reliability in the single
TABLE 1
Cronbach‘s Alpha for Six Samples
Challenge
Freedom
Idea support
Trustt’openness
D ynamismlliveliness
Playfulness/humour
Debates
Conflicts
Risk taking
Idea time
A
B
C
D
E
F
Mean
0.83
0.79
0.90
0.88
0.84
0.82
0.71
0.89
0.76
0.76
0.81
0.67
0.88
0.76
0.76
0.70
0.67
0.84
0.66
0.78
0.81
0.76
0.90
0.70
0.82
0.89
0.78
0.90
0.74
0.77
0.85
0.77
0.91
0.84
0.89
0.88
0.78
0.84
0.77
0.84
0.80
0.72
0.85
0.79
0.67
0.82
0.80
0.83
0.68
0.76
0.80
0.72
0.87
0.79
0.77
0.77
0.73
0.81
0.78
0.78
0.82
0.74
0.89
0.79
0.79
0.81
0.75
0.85
0.73
0.78
A = 78 psychologists from 78 organizations (Sweden, Ekvall, 1988); B = 104 engineers
from the same company (Sweden, Ekvall, 1988); C = 157 employees (different professions)
from a senior high school (Sweden, Holmqvist, 1993); D = 230 engineers from 10 companies
(Sweden, Schou, 1991); E = 202 employees in the service division of a multinationalcompany
(UK, Talbot, Cooper, & Barrow, 1992); F = 433 employees from six organizations (USA,
Laurer, 1994).
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observer’s ratings warrants satisfactory reliability in the aggregated ratings,
i.e. on the organizational level. Table 1 shows that all the 10 dimensions
have an internal consistency that is generally seen to be acceptable for
these types of measurements. Some of the scales have reliabilities on levels
that are considered as high.
The stability aspect of the reliability of the CCQ has been illustrated in
a longitudinal study of a product development project in a high-tech company (Ekvall, 1993). Thirty engineers worked in the project which lasted
for three years. The climate was measured each third month with the CCQ,
answered by all the engineers. As can be seen from Table 2 the climate
scores (the mean scores for the participants) were very stable during a
period running over four measurements, from the fourth to the seventh
measure, during the second year of the project’s life. This was the period
when the innovation work was done. The targets were set, the resources
were there, the roles and the organization of the work clear, and the
engineers had to come to know each other quite well. And it was the period
during which the basic design work was carried out. It was described by
the project manager as the creative part of the product development process. After that period the work consisted of smaller adaptations, fewer
refinements, and less documentation, and the climate curves went down
somewhat during that period, except for Conflicts which rose.
The practical relevance and usefulness of the climate factors of the CCQ
as tools for organizational diagnosis and treatment is confirmed by the
widespread use of the CCQ in organizational and management development projects and programmes.
TABLE 2
Mean Scores in the CCQ Dimensions, Measurement 4 to 7
(Scale 0-3)
Mean Scores
4
5
6
7
2.38
1.96
1.83
2.20
2.28
2.34
1.90
0.32
1.56
1.35
2.36
1.97
1.86
2.25
2.25
2.43
1.97
0.34
1.60
1.43
2.36
1.99
1.80
2.21
2.25
2.36
1.79
0.28
1.61
1.51
~
Challenge
Freedom
Idea support
Trustlopenness
D ynamism/liveliness
Playfulness/humour
Debates
Conflicts
Risk taking
Idea time
2.37
2.06
1.80
2.25
2.14
2.20
1.80
0.19
1.58
1.42
111
ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE
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CREATIVE CLIMATE AND INNOVATIVENESS
The model shown in Fig. 1 presumes that the climate exerts influences on
processes that can bring innovative outcomes. Organizations identified as
innovative in terms of products, services, methods, policies, etc. should
accordingly differ in climate from deliberately conservative or unintentionally out-distanced organizations. Studies with the CCQ support this presumption.
Figure 2 presents a comparison between a group of 10 innovative organizations and a group of five stagnated organizations. “Organization” means
here a small company or an independent division of a larger corporation
with 100-200 employees. “Innovative” refers to product innovations. The
10 innovative organizations have been successful in developing new, profitable products and thereby secure their survival in the market. The five
stagnated organizations needed renewal of their product programmes but
had not tried or tried in a lame and futile manner. All employees or a
representative sample answered the CCQ. The dots in the figure represent
mean factor scores for the organizations in the two groups (Ekvall, 1989).
The mean differences are significant on the 0.05 level or better on all
10 climate dimensions, counted on all the individual ratings given by the
participants of the innovative and the stagnated organizations.
Figure 3 shows results from the application of the CCQ in three subsidiaries of a large multinational corporation in the mechanical industry;
one Swedish, one German, and one Spanish. The study was part of a
corporate-wide programme for promoting innovativeness. The application
of the questionnaire was carried out by consultants from the headquarters.
0
1
2
3
Challenge
Freedom
Idea support
Trusttopenness
Dynamism/liveliness
Playfulness/humour
Debates
Conflicts
Risk Taking
Idea time
FIG. 2. Climate profiles in creativehnnovative (m-m)
and stagnated ( 0 – 0 ) organizations.
2
7
Challenge
Freedom

Idea-supporl
Trusr
I
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Dynamism
Playfulness
Debares
4
-.
Conflicts
Risk raking
I.,-
Idea rime
FIG. 3. Climate profiles for German (*-@),
sidiaries of a multinational corporation.
Swedish (m-m),
and Spanish
(X-X)
sub-
A11 kinds of employees were represented in the samples-managers, whitecollar, and blue-collar workers. The response rates were very high among
managers and white-collar workers but quite low among the blue-collar
employees. The top management group of the corporation’s R&D function
ranked the three companies regarding their innovative achievements.
There was agreement in ranking the German company as number one, the
Swedish as number two, and the Spanish as number three. Objective
indications of innovativeness, such as number of patents and the activity
level in the suggestion schemes, produced the same ranking.
The third study, the results of which are presented in Tables 3, 4, and
5 o