Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Social network evolution in creative process of CNPD teams: a case study of Chinese companies

  • Published:
Quality & Quantity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The existing theories about how social networks affect creativity mostly focus on a certain stage in the organizational life of an idea, for instance, ideas generation, commercialization of ideas, and a previous assumption refers that multiple attributes of social networks of creative team are static. It is not possible to resolve such a realistic and important issue that how dynamic evolution of social networks affects the creative process at the fuzzy front-end of complex new product development (CNPD) of research and development (R&D) teams. This paper studies six R&D teams of CNPD from three new high-tech enterprises, in terms of network transaction content-heterogeneity/homogeneity of task knowledge, network relationship strength—weak tie/strong tie, and network structure—core–periphery as three major dimensions of social networks. It analyzes their dynamic evolution in the creative process and its influence on three sub-processes named idea generation, idea screening, and idea development. We find that in R&D teams network transaction content-heterogeneity of task knowledge, weak-tie network relationship, and discrete network structure are conducive to idea generation; homogeneity of task knowledge, strong-tie network relationship, and centralized network structure are good for idea screening; homogeneity of task knowledge in the network is maintained while new knowledge is obtained actively from the outside; internal network relationship is dominated by strong tie while weak tie is connected with the outside; both diffused and balanced network structures are beneficial to idea development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amabile, T.M.: A model of creativity and innovation in organizations. In: Staw, B.M., Cummings, L.L. (eds.) Research in Organizational Behavior, vol. 10, pp. 123–167. JAI Press, Greenwich, CT (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  • Amabile, T.M.: Creativity and Innovation in Organizations. Harvard Business School, Boston (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  • Anand, N., Gardner, H.K., Morris, T.: Knowledge-based innovation: emergence and embedding of new practice areas in management consulting firms. Acad. Manag. J. 50(2), 406–428 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ancona, D.G., Caldwell, D.F.: Demography and design: predictors of new product team performance. Organ. Sci. 3(3), 321–341 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, J., Smith, D.C.: In search of the marketing imagination: factors affecting the creativity of marketing programs for mature products. J. Mark. Res. 33(2), 174–187 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barczak, G., Griffin, A., Kahn, K.B.: Perspective: trends and drivers of success in NPD practices: results of the 2003 PDMA best practices study. J. Prod. Innov. Manag. 26(1), 3–23 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Basadur, M., Graen, G.B., Green, S.G.: Training in creative problem solving: effects on ideation and problem finding and solving in an industrial research organization. Organ. Behav. Hum. Perform. 30(1), 41–70 (1982)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borgatti, S.P., Everett, M.G.: Models of core/periphery structures. Soc. Netw. 21(4), 375–395 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braha, D., Bar-Yam, Y.: The statistical mechanics of complex product development: empirical and analytical results. Manag. Sci. 53(7), 1127–1145 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cattani, G., Ferriani, S.: A core/periphery perspective on individual creative performance: social networks and cinematic achievements in the Hollywood film industry. Organ. Sci. 19(6), 824–844 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, M.H., Chang, Y.C., Hung, S.C.: Social capital and creativity in R&D project teams. R&d Manag. 38(1), 21–34 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, R.G., Kleinschmidt, E.J.: Major new products: what distinguishes the winners in the chemical industry? J. Prod. Innov. Manag. 10(2), 90–111 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darr, E.D., Kurtzberg, T.R.: 2000 An investigation of partner similarity dimensions on knowledge transfer. Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process. 82 (1), 28–44 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diehl, M., Stroebe, W.: Productivity loss in brainstorming groups: toward the solution of a riddle. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 53(3), 497 (1987)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drazin, R., Glynn, M.A., Kazanjian, R.K.: Multilevel theorizing about creativity in organizations: a sensemaking perspective. Acad. Manag. Rev. 24(2), 286–307 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhardt, K.M.: Building theories from case study research. Acad. Manag. Rev. 14(4), 532–550 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhardt, K.M.: Better stories and better constructs: the case for rigor and comparative logic. Acad. Manag. Rev. 16(3), 620–627 (1991)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhardt, K.M., Bourgeois, L.J.: Politics of strategic decision making in high-velocity environments: toward a midrange theory. Acad. Manag. J. 31(4), 737–770 (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  • Elam, J.J., Mead, M.: Can software influence creativity? Inf. Syst. Res. 1(1), 1–22 (1990)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elsbach, K.D., Kramer, R.M.: Assessing creativity in Hollywood pitch meetings: evidence for a dual-process model of creativity judgments. Acad. Manag. J. 46(3), 283–301 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedmann, J.: Regional Development Policy: A Case Study of Venezuela. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (1966)

    Google Scholar 

  • Garfield, M.J., Taylor, N.J., Dennis, A.R., Satzinger, J.W.: Research report: modifying paradigms—individual differences, creativity techniques, and exposure to ideas in group idea generation. Inf. Syst. Res. 12(3), 322–333 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilsing, V., Nooteboom, B.: Density and strength of ties in innovation networks: an analysis of multimedia and biotechnology. Eur. Manag. Rev. 2(3), 179–197 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glynn, M.A.: Innovative genius: a framework for relating individual and organizational intelligences to innovation. Acad. Manag. Rev. 21(4), 1081–1111 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golden, B.R.: Research notes. The past is the past—or is it? The use of retrospective accounts as indicators of past strategy. Acad. Manag. J. 35(4), 848–860 (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter, M.S.: The strength of weak ties. Am. J. Sociol. 78, 1360–1380 (1973)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter, M.: The strength of weak ties: a network theory revisited. Sociol. Theory 1(1), 201–233 (1983)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, M.T., Mors, M.L., Løvås, B.: Knowledge sharing in organizations: multiple networks, multiple phases. Acad. Manag. J. 48(5), 776–793 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hemlin, S.: Creative knowledge environments for research groups in biotechnology. The influence of leadership and organizational support in universities and business companies. Scientometrics 67(1), 121–142 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobday, M., Rush, H., Tidd, J.: Innovation in complex products and system. Res. Policy 29(7), 793–804 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibarra, H., Andrews, S.B.: Power, social influence, and sense making: effects of network centrality and proximity on employee perceptions. Adm. Sci. Q. 38(2), 277–303 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inkpen, A.C., Tsang, E.W.: Social capital, networks, and knowledge transfer. Acad. Manag. Rev. 30(1), 146–165 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jick, T.D.: Mixing qualitative and quantitative methods: triangulation in action. Adm. Sci. Q. 24(4), 602–611 (1979)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahn, W.A.: Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Acad. Manag. J. 33(4), 692–724 (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  • Khurana, A., Rosenthal, S.R.: Towards holistic “front ends” in new product development. J. Prod. Innov. Manag. 15(1), 57–74 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kijkuit, B., Van Den Ende, J.: The organizational life of an idea: integrating social network, creativity and decision-making perspectives. J. Manag. Stud. 44(6), 863–882 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J., Wilemon, D.: Focusing the fuzzy front-end in new product development. R&D Manag. 32(4), 269–279 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, K.J., Lim, B., Saltz, J.L., Mayer, D.M.: How do they get there? An examination of the antecedents of centrality in team networks. Acad. Manag. J. 47(6), 952–963 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kratzer, J., Leenders, O.T.A.J., Engelen, J.M.L.: Stimulating the potential: creative performance and communication in innovation teams. Creat. Innov. Manag. 13(1), 63–71 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kratzer, J., Leenders, R.T.A., Van Engelen, J.M.: The social network among engineering design teams and their creativity: a case study among teams in two product development programs. Int. J. Proj. Manag. 28(5), 428–436 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, N., Stern, L.W., Anderson, J.C.: Conducting interorganizational research using key informants. Acad. Manag. J. 36(6), 1633–1651 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  • Leenders, R.T.A., Van Engelen, J.M., Kratzer, J.: Virtuality, communication, and new product team creativity: a social network perspective. J. Eng. Technol. Manag. 20(1), 69–92 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lubart, T.I.: Models of the creative process: past, present and future. Creat. Res. J. 13(3–4), 295–308 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacCrimmon, K.R., Wagner, C.: Stimulating ideas through creative software. Manag. Sci. 40(11), 1514–1532 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsden, P.V.: Network data and measurement. Ann. Rev. Sociol. 16(16), 435–463 (1990)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, J.A., Eisenhardt, K.M.: Rewiring: cross-business-unit collaborations in multibusiness organizations. Acad. Manag. J. 53(2), 265–301 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, C.C., Cardinal, L.B., Glick, W.H.: Retrospective reports in organizational research: a reexamination of recent evidence. Acad. Manag. J. 40(1), 189–204 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  • Moenaert, R.K., De Meyer, A., Souder, W.E., Deschoolmeester, D.: R&D/marketing communication during the fuzzy front-end. IEEE Trans. Eng. Manag. 42(3), 243–258 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moorman, C., Miner, A.S.: The impact of organizational memory on new product performance and creativity. J. Mark. Res. 34(1), 91–106 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagasundaram, M., Dennis, A.R.: When a group is not a group: the cognitive foundation of group idea generation. Small Group Res. 24(4), 463–489 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ozcan, P., Eisenhardt, K.M.: Origin of alliance portfolios: entrepreneurs, network strategies, and firm performance. Acad. Manag. J. 52(2), 246–279 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perry-Smith, J.E.: Social yet creative: the role of social relationships in facilitating individual creativity. Acad. Manag. J. 49(1), 85–101 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perry-Smith, J.E., Shalley, C.E.: The social side of creativity: a static and dynamic social network perspective. Acad. Manag. Rev. 28(1), 89–106 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew, A.M.: Longitudinal field research on change: theory and practice. Organ. Sci. 1(3), 267–292 (1990)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reagans, R., McEvily, B.: Network structure and knowledge transfer: the effects of cohesion and range. Adm. Sci. Q. 48(2), 240–267 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reagans, R., Zuckerman, E.W.: Networks, diversity, and productivity: the social capital of corporate R&D teams. Organ. Sci. 12(4), 502–517 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid, S.E., De Brentani, U.: The fuzzy front end of new product development for discontinuous innovations: a theoretical model. J. Prod. Innov. Manag. 21(3), 170–184 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodan, S., Galunic, C.: More than network structure: how knowledge heterogeneity influences managerial performance and innovativeness. Strateg. Manag. J. 25(6), 541–562 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sammarra, A., Biggiero, L.: Heterogeneity and specificity of inter-firm knowledge flows in innovation networks. J. Manag. Stud. 45(4), 800–829 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shalley, C.E., Zhou, J., Oldham, G.R.: The effects of personal and contextual characteristics on creativity: where should we go from here? J. Manag. 30(6), 933–958 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  • Simonton, D.K.: Artistic creativity and interpersonal relationships across and within generations. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 46(6), 1273 (1984)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, P.G., Reinertsen, D.G.: Developing Products in Half the Time. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, G.A., Burley, J.: 3,000 raw ideas = 1 commercial success. Res. Technol. Manag. 40(3), 16–27 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutton, R.I., Callahan, A.L.: The stigma of bankruptcy: spoiled organizational image and its management. Acad. Manag. J. 30(3), 405–436 (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutton, R.I., Hargadon, A.: Brainstorming groups in context: effectiveness in a product design firm. Adm. Sci. Q. 41(4), 685–718 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tichy, N.M., Tushman, M.L., Fombrun, C.: Social network analysis for organizations. Acad. Manag. Rev. 4(4), 507–519 (1979)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verworn, B., Herstatt, C., Nagahira, A.: The fuzzy front end of Japanese new product development projects: impact on success and differences between incremental and radical projects. R&d Manag. 38(1), 1–19 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, W.E., Kumar, K., Michaelsen, L.K.: Cultural diversity’s impact on interaction process and performance: comparing homogeneous and diverse task groups. Acad. Manag. J. 36(3), 590–602 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  • Weick, K.E.: Sensemaking in Organizations. Sage, Thousand Oaks (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiersema, M.F., Bantel, K.A.: Top management team demography and corporate strategic change. Acad. Manag. J. 35 (1), 91–121 (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodman, R.W., Sawyer, J.E., Griffin, R.W.: Toward a theory of organizational creativity. Acad. Manag. Rev. 18(2), 293–321 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yin, R.K.: Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Sage, Thousand Oaks (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, W., Zhang, Q.: Multi-stage evaluation and selection in the formation process of complex creative solution. Qual. Quant. 48(5), 2375–2404 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, W., Zhang, Q., Song, M.: How do individual-level factors affect the creative solution formation process of teams? Creat. Innov. Manag. 24(3), 508–524 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, J., Shin, S.J., Brass, D.J., Choi, J., Zhang, Z.: Social networks, personal values, and creativity: evidence for curvilinear and interaction effects. J. Appl. Psychol. 94(6), 1544 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Policy and Management, Central China Normal University, Rm. 431, Bldg. Gongguan, 152 Luoyu Rd., Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei, 430079, People’s Republic of China

    Wei Zhang

  2. School of Business Administration, Northeastern University, Chuangxin Rd. 195, Hunnan New District, Shengyang, Liaoning, 110167, People’s Republic of China

    Yongli Li

  3. School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, 2 Yikuang Str., Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150010, People’s Republic of China

    Wenyao Zhang

  4. School of Public Policy and Management, Central China Normal University, Rm. 433, Bldg. Gongguan, 152 Luoyu Rd., Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei, 430079, People’s Republic of China

    Shengli Dai

Authors
  1. Wei Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yongli Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wenyao Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Shengli Dai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Wei Zhang or Yongli Li.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhang, W., Li, Y., Zhang, W. et al. Social network evolution in creative process of CNPD teams: a case study of Chinese companies. Qual Quant 53, 143–181 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-018-0740-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-018-0740-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation