Innovation in Work Teams

Researchers and practitioners have recognized the importance of team innovation for organizational effectiveness. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the factors that influence team innovation using an input–process–output structure. We identify factors relating to the team and organizational context as inputs for various team processes that translate into innovative outputs. We further suggest that leadership acts as a contingency factor that facilitates the transition of input factors into team processes. Highlighting the often-overlooked difference between idea generation and idea implementation as part of team innovation, we discuss which input factors and processes are more likely to exert more influence over idea generation and/or idea implementation. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of implementing creative ideas for achieving innovation success.