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i The role of job design practices in firm-level creative capital

Noordhoek, R. (2013) i The role of job design practices in firm-level creative capital.

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Abstract:Purpose – This paper builds further upon the research of Straatman, Veenendaal, and van Velzen (2012) who translated the creative capital concept of Florida (2002) to the organisational level. They argue that research on this topic is rather underdeveloped and covers mainly conceptual research. This paper tries to extend the literature on firm-level creative capital by exploring the job design characteristics of firms with high and low firm-level creative capital and the concept at the organisational level. Design / methodology / approach – For this explorative research we used a qualitative, multi-method, multi-case study design. For comparison, we stratified, based on written materials like company’s website and available research papers of research project initiated by the University of Twente in which these companies have participated in the past, into two groups. This led to a preliminary stratification of companies into two groups, one group scored low and the other group scored high on firm-level creative capital. We conducted semi-structured interviews with manager at eight different companies in the region of Twente, The Netherlands. These companies operated in the design, engineering and manufacturing industry. We then transcribed the interviews and coded the data via hypothesis, initial, axial and focussed coding techniques. We then used the coded data to compare our findings on the different dimension of firm-level creative capital with the preliminary score to create two groups. We then compared these groups on the role of job design practices in firm-level creative capital. Findings – First, we argue that firm-level creative capital has a right for existence between the other capitals within intellectual capital, because of the essence, namely the aggregated creative ability. Second, our results provide evidence that creative capital exists at an organisational level. Third, the findings indicate that organisations with a high firm-level creative capital provide employees with the freedom to choice their working methods and freedom in scheduling their work. In addition, organisations with high firm-level creative capital design jobs that are complex and challenging. Moreover, organisations with high firm-level creative capital design jobs that have continuously interaction outside the organisation. The organisations use these practices to release the creativity of their employees. Recommendations – As this is an explorative research, the findings cannot be generalised, therefore we recommend other researchers to test these findings with a quantitative research design based on probability sampling to be able to state something about the population. We encourage other researchers to take formal properties like centralisation, formalisation, control systems and technology of the organisation into their research. In addition, we encourage them to look at the relation between creative capital and innovation. Originality / value – This research as part of a research program is of value, because before this program no known operationalisation and conceptualisation of firm-level creative capital existed. This research program provides the first researches that explores qualitatively with a multi-case study design, the role of HR practices in firm-level creative capital. This paper is the first that explores the role of job design practices with such a research design.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/63857
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