Resumen de Creatividad, organizaciones y trabajo. Una revisión bibliográfica sobre estudios cualitativos

Ernesto Monroy Agamez, Lisseth Gutiérrez González, Diana Barrios

• español

  Esta revisión bibliográfica explora los aportes de la investigación cualitativa al estudio de la creatividad en las organizaciones y el trabajo. La metodología cualitativa permite la comprensión profunda del proceso creativo en un contexto sociocultural específico, en términos de significados y experiencias. Por esta razón, es esencial desarrollar este tipo de revisión, según la naturaleza social del proceso creativo y de los constructos sociales que caracterizan la dinámica de las organizaciones y del trabajo. Este artículo sintetiza los principales hallazgos que han surgido de estudios cualitativos sobre la creatividad en el campo de las organizaciones y del trabajo, y reflexiona sobre las implicaciones de tales desarrollos, que recuerdan los estudios que dieron voz a los individuos y grupos que vivencian el proceso creativo de primera mano. En este sentido, el propósito de la presente revisión bibliográfica fue analizar los hallazgos cualitativos para contribuir a la comprensión del proceso creativo en contextos organizacionales.

  Específicamente, la presente investigación está comprendida por la revisión de 25 artículos científicos consultados en bases de datos bibliográficas, buscados en español e inglés con términos tales como creatividad, psicología e investigación cualitativa.

  Al reflexionar sobre los planteamientos analizados como un todo y considerar globalmente los aspectos comunes de los hallazgos de investigaciones cualitativas sobre la creatividad en las organizaciones y en el trabajo, se puede reafirmar el gran peso social y cultural que tiene el proceso creativo, en especial, las interacciones del trabajo en equipo, que mantienen un equilibrio entre la persona y los demás, en los que prima, más que el “yo creo” o “ellos crean”, el “nosotros creamos”.

• English

  This bibliographic review explores the contributions of qualitative research to the study of creativity in organizations and the workplace. Qualitative methodology allows the deep understanding of the creative process in a specific sociocultural context in terms of meanings and experiences. For this reason, it is essential to conduct this kind of review, taking into account the social nature of the creative process and the social constructs that characterize the dynamic of organizations and the workplace. This article synthetizes the main findings that have emerged in qualitative studies about creativity in the field of organizations and the workplace, reflecting on the implications of such developments, resonating with studies which gave voice to individuals and groups that experience the creative process firsthand.

  Previous creativity research has shown a greater inclination to study creativity using quantitative methods. This tendency toward quantitative studies has made it difficult to fully and deeply understand the meanings and complexities of cultural and societal phenomena that intervene in creative processes. In this regard, developing research on creativity in the context of organizational and work psychology, under a qualitative paradigm, would provide openness and depth, in addition to having an understanding in terms of experiences and meanings of those who live these realities directly. In this sense, the purpose of the present bibliographic review was to analyse that kind of findings in order to contribute to the understanding of the creative process in the organizational context.

  Specifically, the present bibliographic review is comprised of the analysis of 25scientific articles consulted in bibliographic databases, searched in Spanish and English with terms such as creativity, psychology, and qualitative research. The selected articles account for the qualitative study of creativity in organizations and the workplace, that is, a context that implies the analysis of creativity in relation to work processes, professionals, and enterprises.

  Our analysis of previous studies suggests that one of the most meaningful experiences related to creativity is the balance between the person and the group. In this way, the individuals that assume a creative endeavour with a professional intention will try to solve new problems while balancing the needs of the others (be it the general public, an audience, clients or consumers) and their own personal needs. The catalyst of that balancing is usually based on open communication and positive interpersonal relationships with all the involved parties.

  On one hand, focusing excessively on one of the aspects will inhibit the creative process. On the other hand, keeping that balance will foster creative ideas, increasing the opportunity to develop a creative product or solution.

  Reflecting on these notions as a whole, if we consider globally the common aspects of the findings of qualitative research on creativity in organizations and at the workplace, we can reaffirm the great social and cultural weight of the creative process, especially the interactions of teamwork, maintaining a balance between the person and the others, where, instead of the “I create” or “they create”, the “we create” prevails. Such a qualitative view of creativity emphasises interpersonal relationships, and points out that creativity needs a context, where the creative product is the result of the interaction of the individual and the society.