Creativity and innovation are often seen as two sides of the same coin. Creativity involves generating ideas that are both novel and useful, while innovation is the process of turning those ideas into tangible outcomes such as new products, services, or processes. Both are essential for organizations, yet research has long treated them separately. As we point out in our recent Research Policy article, this division fails to reflect how these processes interact in the real world, where organizations face practical challenges when creativity and innovation are siloed, such as struggling to turn ideas into action or neglecting creative thinking in favour of execution.

The issue stems from the different origins of creativity and innovation research. Creativity studies, rooted in psychology, focus on individual and team-level idea generation. Innovation research, on the other hand, draws from economics and management, examining how organizations implement ideas at a broader level. This academic siloing means that while we understand a lot about how creativity and innovation work independently, we know far less about how they connect.

We argue that this disconnect creates a gap in our understanding of how creativity and innovation interact in practice. For example, organizations often struggle with the transition from generating ideas to implementing them. A company might excel at brainstorming but fail to turn those ideas into action, or it might focus so much on execution that it neglects the creative spark needed for true innovation.

The solution is not to erase the distinctions between creativity and innovation but to build bridges between them. For instance, companies can stimulate creativity at the organizational level by fostering a culture of experimentation, while also encouraging innovation implementation at the individual level through training and incentives. Creativity research can deepen our understanding of the human factors in innovation, while innovation research can ground creativity studies in the realities of implementation. This integration is not just an academic exercise, it has real-world stakes. Many of today’s grand challenges, from clean energy to aging populations, require sustained creative thinking and effective implementation. By uniting these principles, organizations can foster environments where novel ideas not only emerge but also gain the traction needed to become real solutions.

A more integrated approach to creativity and innovation can enrich theory, sharpen research, and enhance our ability to manage and accelerate progress. For practitioners, this means designing systems that support the full journey of an idea, from creation to impact. Start by encouraging collaboration between creative and implementation teams and track how ideas move through each stage. The goal is to ensure that the creative potential within your organization translates consistently into innovations that drive meaningful change.

Author: Pedro de Faria - p.m.m.de.faria@rug.nl

References:

Nijstad, B., Calic, G., de Faria, P., Grimpe, C., & Kauppila, O. P. (2026). Connecting creativity and innovation research: Building bridges to cross divides. Research Policy, 55(2), 105391.