Social representations of creativity and innovation in military cadets: anchoring in experience and orientation of social behavior

DA COSTA, S.; PAEZ, D.; TORRES, J. A.; BERAMENDI, M. R.; DELFINO, G.; MURATORI, M.; SOSA, F. M.

Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

Congreso; 24° Conferencia Internacional sobre Representaciones Sociales (CIRS); 2018

Universidad de Buenos Aires

In all organizations, creativity and innovation are important for successful performance, sucess and long-term survival (p.e., da Costa et al., 2016; Drucker, 1999, 2002; Innosight, 2017; OIT, 2013). There is general agreement regarding the fact that, in addition to leadership, the factors which foster creativity and innovation in organizations are those related to structure, work role, socio-emotional climate and, to a lesser extent, individual characteristics (da Costa et al., 2014; da Costa et al., 2015; Woodman et al., 1993). It is hypothesized that the greater the perception of innovation and factors conducive to it, the more positive and elaborate the representation of creativity and innovation would be, and this representations should influence social behavior. In this study, 315 people participated (aged between 20 and 29, mean = 23.52, SD = 2.39).Results globally suggest that social representations captured in this study are anchored on social experience and guide to some extent (reported) behavior. Fourth classes were found: a) creativity and innovation as proposals of organizational changes, b) creativity as originality or a different way of doing associated with 3rd-year participants and the female gender, c) innovation as changes in institutional routine, that includes nine of ten creativity and innovation typical attributes, in particular planning and processes. Confirming that a more elaborated representation is associated to higher innovation, this representation of innovation was related to high innovation leadership, role expectation and perceived innovation, d) creativity as solving problems associated with people who are close to the end of their training period, those with the rank of 1st Sergeant and with a low perception of positive leadership in their organization. This pragmatic representation of creativity was also associated with reporting not to obey the order to shoot unarmed civilians.