The Interplay between Individuals and Teams in Producing Original Work (Journal Article)

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Abstract: This study investigates the assumption that teams are the basic unit for creativity and innovation in organizations. Through a quasi-experiment conducted with 548 professionals participating in a training course on management, the study first examines whether individuals opt for intrinsically more creative solutions than groups in a music composition task. Secondly, it explores whether alternating between group and individual music composition has an impact on the originality of the pieces composed. The results show that individuals make more original choices than groups whatever protocol is used, confirming that individuals are better able to think outside of the box, take risks, and demonstrate the divergent thinking necessary for creativity. Moreover, individuals choose less original options when their independent work is preceded by a group composition exercise. Paradoxically, we observe that in all cases, participants are more satisfied with their group production than their individual production. We conclude with some recommendations for developing the most original and satisfactory collective solutions to complex problems.