Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • May 2018
  • Article
  • Journal of Accounting Research

Effects of an Information Sharing System on Employee Creativity, Engagement, and Performance

By: Shelley Xin Li and Tatiana Sandino
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Many service organizations rely on information sharing systems to boost employee creativity to meet customer needs. We conducted a field experiment in a retail chain, based on a registered report accepted by Journal of Accounting Research, to test whether an information sharing system recording employees’ creative work affected the quality of creative work, job engagement, and financial performance. We found that, on average, this system did not have a significant effect on any outcomes. However, it significantly improved the quality of creative work in stores that had accessed the system more frequently and in stores with fewer same-company nearby stores. It also improved creative work and job engagement in stores in divergent markets, where customers needed more customization. We found weak evidence of better financial results where salespeople had lower creative talent before the system was introduced. Our findings shed light on those conditions in which information sharing systems affect employees’ creative work.

Keywords

Information; Knowledge Sharing; Employees; Creativity; Performance

Citation

Li, Shelley Xin, and Tatiana Sandino. "Effects of an Information Sharing System on Employee Creativity, Engagement, and Performance." Journal of Accounting Research 56, no. 2 (May 2018): 713–747.
  • Find it at Harvard

About The Author

Tatiana Sandino

Accounting and Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    The Impact of Subunit Culture Consistency on Employee and Customer Outcomes

    By: Jasmijn Bol, Robert Grasser, Serena Loftus and Tatiana Sandino
    • June 2022 (Revised January 2023)
    • Faculty Research

    Buurtzorg

    By: Ethan Bernstein, Tatiana Sandino, Joost Minnaar and Annelena Lobb
    • 2020
    • Faculty Research

    From Online Content to Offline Results: Effects of a Best Practices Initiative on an Enterprise Social Network

    By: Shelley Xin Li and Tatiana Sandino
More from the Authors
  • The Impact of Subunit Culture Consistency on Employee and Customer Outcomes By: Jasmijn Bol, Robert Grasser, Serena Loftus and Tatiana Sandino
  • Buurtzorg By: Ethan Bernstein, Tatiana Sandino, Joost Minnaar and Annelena Lobb
  • From Online Content to Offline Results: Effects of a Best Practices Initiative on an Enterprise Social Network By: Shelley Xin Li and Tatiana Sandino
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College