Organizational Culture and Creative Processes : Comparing German Theater Companies and Scientific Institutes

An open organizational culture (for example, enhancement of individual autonomy) is needed in order to promote organizational creativity. But such openness can lead to problems with coordination that may jeopardize the organization’s success. For example, an open organizational culture is accompanied by parallel processes of closure (promoting orientation, consensus, and trust) that reduce the negative secondary effects of openness (Gebert and others, 2004). It is thereby understood that the creative process in a theater company requires a greater effort at coordination than in scientific institutes. This is why cultural openness in a theater company comes with risk. Empirical results from interviews with 28 research institutes (N 113) and 13 theater companies (N 88) show that an open culture in theaters as well as in scientific institutes, is significantly connected to closed culture processes that serve as buffers. Furthermore, openness in a theater company in terms of risk prevention is developed significantly less than in scientific institutes. Also openness when the buffering closure is missing is not significantly connected to success in scientific institutes, and in theater companies there is even a significant negative connection. The need for buffering is thus especially meaningful for the results in a theater company.