Rethinking the Building Blocks of Employee Creativity: A Meta-Synthesis of Qualitative Research

Employee creativity refers to the generation of novel and useful ideas by either an individual or a group of individuals who are actively engaged in collaborative endeavors. Organizations can take advantage of new opportunities, maintain their competitive advantage, and adapt to dynamic situations with the help of novel ideas and decisions. Additionally, innovation is closely related to employee creativity, which has a significant impact on market expansion and profitability. Extensive research has been conducted on employee creativity, with a substantial number of studies using a quantitative methodology. The main goal of this study is to create a comprehensive framework that encompasses the factors that impact employee creativity at different levels, based on qualitative findings. An assessment was conducted on 32 qualitative studies through thematic synthesis using the meta-synthesis approach, a qualitative research method that systematically integrates and analyzes the findings of multiple qualitative studies. Through an iterative coding process, related categories and themes across studies were identified and synthesized to generate a detailed understanding of the factors that influence employee creativity. According to the findings, three primary themes, individual-level factors, group-level factors, and organizational-level factors, were identified. This study provides an alternative perspective on the multifaceted nature of employee creativity, providing insights for researchers and practitioners to promote innovation and enhance organizational success.