Linking the Physical Work Environment to Creative Context

Creative achievement of teams is increasingly recognized as an organization's most valuable production. With dramatically advancing technology producing an almost unlimited amount of available information, the crucial challenge to many corporate and government organizations is how to use that information most creatively. While little expense is spared on identifying and training teams to enhance their potential for creative achievement, little is known about how, or if, the physical designed environment of these organizations supports creative achievement of teams. This review of literature across the disciplines of creativity, organizational behavior, and environment and behavior studies advocates a position for the physical environment in the context of creativity. Creative team characteristics and social influences are linked to properties and attributes of the physical office environment.