Temporal Dynamics of Creativity and Motivation: What We Know, What We Do Not, and a Few Suggestions for Filling the Gap

<div class="line" id="line-15"> <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> Given the importance of creativity to the success of today's organizations, motivating one's workforce to produce novel and useful ideas is essential. To date, the scientific study of creativity has generated a substantial body of knowledge on who is most likely to be motivated to be creative, when they are most likely to be so, and why. However, most of this literature focuses on average differences between people at a single point in time; that is, it is cross-sectional. As a result, much less is known about the relationship between motivation and creativity as it unfolds over time. Capturing this variability is essential for our knowledge in this domain to advance. Reviewed in this chapter are the studies published in the past 15 years examining creativity and motivation over time (k&emsp14;=&emsp14;28). Nearly 80% of these studies were focused on process-based theories (e.g., self-efficacy, emotion), while the remaining studies examined context-based (e.g., job demands, psychological empowerment) or content-based theories (e.g., regulatory focus, affiliation motives). After reviewing these studies, what we know about this area of research is summarized, and suggestions for future research and practical implications are offered. </span></div>