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
  • September–October 1998
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review

How to Kill Creativity

By: T. M. Amabile
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:12
ShareBar

Abstract

The article addresses the topic of business creativity, its benefits, and how managers can inspire it. The author's research shows that it is possible to develop the best of both worlds: organizations in which business imperatives are attended to and creativity flourishes. The author observes that creativity is a function of three components: expertise, creative-thinking skills, and motivation. She believes managers can influence these components through workplace practices and conditions. The author sees managerial practices affecting creativity as falling into six general categories: challenge, freedom, resources, work-group features, supervisor encouragement, and organization support.

Keywords

Creativity; Situation or Environment; Motivation and Incentives; Organizational Culture; Management Practices and Processes

Citation

Amabile, T. M. "How to Kill Creativity." Harvard Business Review 76, no. 5 (September–October 1998): 76–87.
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Purchase

About The Author

Teresa M. Amabile

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

More from the Author

    • 2022
    • Academy of Management Collections

    The Turn Toward Creative Work

    By: Spencer Harrison, Elizabeth D. Rouse, Colin M. Fisher and Teresa M. Amabile
    • July 2022
    • Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

    What Do I Make of the Rest of My Life? Global and Quotidian Life Construal across the Retirement Transition

    By: Jeff Steiner and Teresa M. Amabile
    • August 2021
    • Academy of Management Perspectives

    The Undervalued Power of Self-relevant Research: The Case of Researching Retirement While Retiring

    By: Teresa M. Amabile and Douglas T. (Tim) Hall
More from the Author
  • The Turn Toward Creative Work By: Spencer Harrison, Elizabeth D. Rouse, Colin M. Fisher and Teresa M. Amabile
  • What Do I Make of the Rest of My Life? Global and Quotidian Life Construal across the Retirement Transition By: Jeff Steiner and Teresa M. Amabile
  • The Undervalued Power of Self-relevant Research: The Case of Researching Retirement While Retiring By: Teresa M. Amabile and Douglas T. (Tim) Hall
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