Creative Knowledge Environments: The Influences on Creativity in Research and Innovation

Although there is an ever increasing demand for new technology and innovations in the economy and society in general, we currently know little about the conditions for stimulating creativity in relation to research and innovative activity. This book fills a significant gap in the literature by examining the environmental factors that encourage creative working processes for research and innovation. Uniquely, the book investigates creative environments rather than creative individuals which has been the traditional focus of most previous research. The authors first explain what a creative knowledge environment (CKE) is and then examine the phenomenon in a number of case-studies at the micro, meso and macro-levels. By analysing the conditions and mechanisms conducive to creativity in both private and public institutions, they are able to identify which work environments appear to best stimulate the creation of knowledge. They combine and integrate the previously rather disparate literature on creativity and innovation, and summarise what we know about creativity on the basis of current research in a range of disciplines. They also link their findings to contemporary debates about the knowledge society, the knowledge economy and knowledge management, and address relevant issues in science and technology policy relating to knowledge production and exploitation. The concluding chapter summarises what we now know about CKEs and how best to stimulate them, including a discussion of the policy implications and an agenda for future research. Academics and researchers in the fields of science and technology policy, innovation management and business will welcome this original and insightful book. It will also be a useful reference for policymakers involved in knowledge management, and practitioners in R&D departments, universities and knowledge-intensive business sectors.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface 1. What is a Creative Knowledge Environment? Part I: Creative Micro Environments 2. Accord or Discord? Tensions and Creativity in Research 3. Changing Academic Research Environments and Innovative Research Part II: Creative Meso and Macro Environments 4. Strategizing for Regional Advantage: A Case Study of Ideon Science Park in Lund, Sweden 5. The Industry Doctoral Student: An Educational Challenge for Academia and Industry 6. Cross-National Variation in Knowledge Search and Exchange Activities: Optoelectronics Suppliers in Britain and France 7. Technological Paradigm Shifts and New Modes of Coordination in Science-Based Industries 8. Scientific Research Collaboration in South America as Reflected in the SCI® 9. Conclusions: How to Simulate Creative Knowledge Environments Index

About the Author :
Edited by Sven Hemlin, Professor Emeritus, University of Gothenburg, Carl Martin Allwood, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and Ben R. Martin, Director of SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research and Professor of Science and Technology Policy Studies, University of Sussex, UK

Review :
'. . . this book will provide useful reading for policy administrators at national and organisational level. . .' '. . . the book presents a very detailed comprehensive theoretical and empirical study of the different dimensions of a creative knowledge environment. It is recommended for reading not only by students and experts in STS, but also by all practitioners involved in policy decision-making processes.' 'This in-depth work is filled with observations and insights that are bound to be of great interest to leaders responsible for fostering creativity in research and innovation.'