A THEORY OF SITUATED CREATIVITY AND ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES

Creativity is a vague term that traditionally referred to artistic expression (e.g. painting, singing, sculpting); now creativity is a thought process emphasizing ‘newness’ and can be applied in other disciplines. Creativity when used effectively can improve an organization’s dynamic capabilities exponentially. Situational creativity (SC) is defined as a practical creative process; ‘creativity’ is the cognitive portion, while ‘situated’ is the action-producing or useful application of the idea. Both exploration and exploitation are interconnected aspects of dynamic capabilities. Exploration is developing new knowledge through abolishing existing standards, roles, tasks, and skills; while exploitation is defined as utilizing existing resources, extending current information and simultaneously pursuing better efficiency and improvements in order to innovate at a slower pace. Dynamic capabilities are defined as an organization’s capacity to integrate, build, and reconfigure existing skill sets in order to receive economic gain from current resources. Systems thinking has shown to be associated with SC because acknowledging the situational factors at play aids in the individual’s learning and problem-solving skills. Situated creativity is a novel idea that can be used in various industries or disciplines. SC is acknowledged in two context: pragmatic and locational views. Pragmatic SC is acknowledging and responding to one’s situation while productively working in unison with the environment. Locational SC is bounded within places and spaces; creativity is seen as viable forces within location. The papers findings add to the knowledge of how organizations can improve their sustainability by applying eastern, pragmatic tenets such as SC to their leadership toolkit, specificlly in healthcare. In the end, this concept can be borrowed by the healthcare industry in order to combat the many changes (technological, environmental, medical, and political) and improve the industry’s dynamic capabilities in the long run.