Team innovation processes: An examination of activity cycles in creative project teams

• Main Authors: Kenneth T. GOH, GOODMAN, Paul S., WEINGART, Laurie R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2013
• Subjects: creative teams; innovation; dynamic process; longitudinal case study; team activity cycles; Organizational Behavior and Theory; Strategic Management Policy
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/5321; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/6320/viewcontent/TeamInnovationProcesses_2013.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This study investigates cycles of planning, enacting, and reviewing activities over time in teams engaged in creative projects. Drawing on longitudinal case studies of two interactive media development teams, two distinct cycles of planning, enacting, and reviewing activities are identified: experimentation cycles and validation cycles. Experimentation cycles are discovery-oriented processes where teams gather insights into project requirements, constraints, and design specifications through trial-and-error. Validation cycles are correction-oriented processes where teams align their output with project requirements through incremental modifications. These findings are then built on to develop testable propositions about the relationship between the duration of planning, enacting, and reviewing activities and the innovativeness and quality of team outcomes.