| dc.description.abstract | In this experimental study, we examined the effects of problem construction – one
of the creative problem-solving processes held to influence creativity – in teams
and the resulting creativity of team output. Fifty-six participants formed 28 twomember
teams, and were individually induced to adopt either goal- or constraintoriented
focus in problem construction. Contrary to earlier research indicating that
the promotional nature of goals and the preventive nature of constraints influence
different dimensions of creativity, teams consisting of members with goaloriented
focus did not differ from teams that are comprised of members with
constraint-oriented focus. Further, although research on team cognition has
emphasised sharedness of member cognition and its benefits, our findings indicate
that differences in team member cognition may not always have negative effects.
That is, when two team members adopted goal- and constraint-oriented focus
respectively, the originality of their solution to an ill-defined problem was
enhanced. The process hypothesised to resolve the differences in team member
cognition also did not have any impact on the creativity of the solutions.
Implications of these findings and avenues for further research are discussed. | nb_NO |
