Can Social Networks Enhance Creativity at Workplace?

Nowadays people pay more and more attention to social networks as they play important roles in our lives. For example, after we graduate from schools, sound social networks may benefit us in job searching, work performance, and promoting or being successful entrepreneurs. I found an article, Social Networks, Personal Values, and Creativity: Evidence for Curvilinear and Interaction Effects, which studied the relation between social networks and creativity and that between conformity value and creativity in China interesting.

The authors argued that most researches of social networks are rarely from the view of personal characteristics; therefore, they included individual attributes, such as the level of conformity, in this article. To tell network opportunities from constraints, weak ties, strong ties, and density are the primary predictors. In addition, individual differences in conformity value are also essential to the study. A survey then was conducted in a high technology company in China. According to the survey, the results analyzed by the authors are as the following four points.

1. There is a curvilinear relationship (reverse U-shape) between number of weak ties and creativity. Employees exhibit greater creativity when their number of weak ties is at intermediate levels.

2. There is no significant relation between strong ties and creativity.

3. There is no significant relation between density and creativity.

4. Employees exhibit higher creativity at intermediate levels of weak ties when their conformity level is low than when conformity is high.

Zhou, Shin, Brass, Choi, and Zhang, (2009) claimed that weak ties are not the same as structural holes because information differences may be between alters, but not between ego and alters. Consequently, homophily, is the better explanation for weak ties which tend to connect non-connected alters. As for the conformity value, it seems to be free from cultural difference because China and the US samples represented similar results. Although the survey shown illustrated no significant influence on creativity by strong ties and density, the two factors are likely to have both positive and negative effects on creativity. A dense network may either inhibit or enhance creativity; nevertheless, it can be positive to creativity implementation. It is worth noting that the limitation of this survey is that it couldn't include some other variables; for instance, the external ties may also effect the results.

This article includes the individual attributes to the research to find out the correlation between not only the creativity and social networks but also conformity and creativity. When studying social networks, I think that human attributes are one of the major variables of the studies. Social networks should be related to both relationships and personalities. When employees with intermediate level of number of weak ties, they can maximize creativity because they obtain diverse information and perspectives from different groups. On the other hand, those who have high or low level of numbers of weak ties can not perform high creativity because they may either spend too much time on relationships rather than generating creative ideas or be restricted or unable to be motivated to have more contacts with other groups. Regarding the strong ties, density, and conformity, the interactions among them can definitely influence the result of creativity. I agree with the authors' point of view that it is likely that strong ties and density may have both positive and negative effects on creativity. Dense networks and strong ties may illustrate the high level of conformity. Consequently, members usually follow the opinion leaders in order to be accepted in the group; needless to say, it is difficult to have diverse ideas or opinions to increase creativity. Yet, strong ties may provide the personal support that enhances creativity (eg., Madjar et al, 2002).

Another article, Guanxi Networks and Creativity in Taiwanese Project Teams, revealed the relation between social networks and creativity in project teams. Guanxi networks mean social networks which have a huge impact on Taiwanese and Chinese societies because they believe that no one can live in isolation. In this article, Guanxi networks were divided into 4 types to see the relation between them and creativity. Chen (2009) argued that a dense network increased the trust among the team members and there was a positive correlation between intra-team network and creativity. Furthermore, more frequent and appropriate networks and communication between project teams within an organization can enhance the creativity. The author concluded that a cohesive internal network should be created before extending the external networks. I disagree with her view because a dense and strong internal network may demonstrate or share the same or similar perspectives and values, and the level of conformity is reinforced at the same time; hence, creative ideas are hindered by the group pressure.

From my point of view, the first article is more persuasive because the survey concluded wider range of social networks and the authors have taken the additional variables into consideration in the end. Compared to the second article, it is lack of the viewpoint of the restraints resulted from the group cohesiveness. Since monophily is formed in an organization, which is commonly seen in a social group as well, creativity should be explored and generated by extending external networks in a proactive manner. The reinforcement of internal networks will lead to the increase of boundaries between the network and the outer groups; meanwhile, the evolution of creativity is hindered.

References:

• Zhou, J., Shin, S. J., Brass, D. J., Choi, J., & Zhang, Z. (2009). Social networks, personal values, and creativity: Evidence for curvilinear and interaction effects. Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol 94(6)
• Chen, Ming-Huei (2009). Guanxi Networks and Creativity in Taiwanese Project Teams. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Vol. 18, No. 4, p. 269-277