Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship and Creativity

Citation

Aleesha Begum (2015), "Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship and Creativity", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 36 No. 8, pp. 1026-1027. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-04-2015-0090

The Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship and Creativity is an extensive overview of the importance of the two key terms when analysed from various perspectives such as education, psychology and sociology. The two key topics of entrepreneurship and creativity are both extremely relevant to the current day life as both businesses and individuals are all looking to maximise their profit and services in order to minimise any effect of the economic climate. Concepts like these are thrown around a lot in the media, news articles and training courses; however, this handbook looks at exactly how to define these terms, what role they have in economic success and how they are related to each other.

The handbook starts off by outlining the various complicated ways in which entrepreneurship and creativity are related and explains exactly what kind of interdependent relationship exists between the two. An example of where the two have become interlinked is the recent increase in creative ways of making money and improving effectiveness within companies. As the handbook states in Chapter One, there has been a 14 per cent increase in the trade of creative services and goods from 2000 to 2008. This is because creativity has been combined with cultural and technological content to create something special and a different way of doing things. These kinds of relationships between the two concepts highlight how they are both incredibly useful skills and concepts to promote within organisations.

Another aspect of entrepreneurship and creativity is how essential these concepts are when working in teams, which is covered in Chapter Five when considering knowledge creation in entrepreneurial teams. The handbook begins Chapter Five by straightaway stating that both concepts are as equally important in groups of people as in the case of individuals. Working in groups allows the individuals to learn from their mistakes and develop new skills and knowledge at a quicker rate due to being able to learn from those around them. The collective knowledge that is created from sharing the decision-making processes helps the entrepreneurial team to develop.

The ever-so-debated topic of nature vs nurture is also focused on in part of Chapter Six. Although traditional research has always focused on creativity as an individual’s personality traits and cognitive abilities, more recent research acknowledges that creativity is likely to be a link between both nature and nurture. With research showing that having creative peers promotes creativity in individuals, it is evident that social interactions and the nurture side of the debate do have an influence.

Towards the end of the handbook, the authors bring up the issue of educational curriculums. This is because with schools and colleges putting more focus on the less creative, more academic subjects it brings up the question of how students are able to be creative if they are not encouraged to do so. When considering this issue, there are various points to be considered since high schools in particular have more creative subjects as being optional but only maths, English and science as the compulsory subjects, as well as using standardised tests that do not measure creativity. The handbook suggests that going forward, assessments need to be student-centred, flexible and ongoing. This is an important point that the handbook brings up, as students who are not knowledgeable on how to use their creativity in the best possible way are going to be working in an environment where creativity is central to operations and is something that employers look for in their employees.

The Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship and Creativity considers topics that may not seem to be associated with these two concepts by the average layperson. Chapter Nine focuses on book publishers and how entrepreneurship is involved in this type of creative career. In particular, being a successful publisher depends much on networking which there are three types of (network communality, network sociality and network connectivity). The role of urban places is also a factor to be considered as convenient meeting places and geographical proximity between organisations allows for individuals to attend meetings with ease and commit more time to work than travelling. Again, these are topics that may not come to mind when thinking of the two concepts at the core of this book and shows how extensive the handbook really is.

Overall, this is an extremely in-depth handbook which covers all areas associated with entrepreneurship and creativity, although it is not a light read and is mainly written for those looking for an extensive insight into the topic. With such a range of authors and leading professionals (from deputy directors to professors and senior researchers in the area of entrepreneurship and creativity) involved in completing the handbook, the reader can be sure they are picking up a book which has been written by the best in the business.