T E R E S A M.

R M R B I l E

Entrepreneurial Creativitv
Through Motivational Svnergv

ABSTRACT This paper defines and describes entrepreneurial creativity, which is the genera-
tion and implementation of novel, appropriate ideas to establish a new venture.
Entrepreneurial creativity can be exhibited in established organizations as well as in start-up firms. The
central thesis of this paper is that entrepreneurial creativity requires a combination of intrinsic motiva-
tion and certain kinds of extrinsic motivation - a motivational synergy that results when strong levels
of personal interest and involvement are combined with the promise of rewards that confirm compe-
tence. support skill development, and enable future achievement.

INTAODUCTION If we trace back the origins of nearly every existing business in the United States,
we will find an entrepreneur - an individual who pursued an idea, a perceived
opportunity for profitably delivering a service or product, regardless of the difficulties that he or she
faced. Given the many obstacles that lie i n the entrepreneurial pathway, considerable creativity is
required. What forms does entrepreneurial creativity take? What motivational states might be most
conducive to these forms of creativity? My students, colleagues, and I have spent the past 20 years
trying to understand the motivation behind creativity, and the ways in which the work environment can
influence it. For the past dozen years, we have focused on creativity in business. Recently, we have
turned to a consideration of the motives behind both thc gcncration and the implcmcntation of new
ideas, recognizing that somewhat different motivational patterns may be optimal for each. Indeed.
recent research suggests that a form of synergy between these different types of motivation may be
most likely to lead to entrepreneurial creativity.
We have defined creativity as the production of novel and appropriate solutions to open-ended
problems in any domain of human activity; we have defined innovation as the implementation of those
novel, appropriate ideas (Amabile, 1983; 1988; 1990; 1996). Entrepreneurship is typically defined in
terms of innovation. For example, Schumpeter (1934) said that entrepreneurial activity involves the
carrying out of new combinations, the “creative destruction” of an existing equilibrium within a par-
ticular industry. This view of entrepreneurship, widely accepted within the academic community (e.g.,
Bull & Willard, 1993). has been elaborated by others, as “the process whereby invention is put into
practice, transforming a disembodied idea into a workable and economically viable operation” (Baumol,
1993, p. 9). Thus, entrepreneurship is a particular form of innovation. It is the successful implementa-
tion of creative ideas to produce a new business, or a new initiative within an existing business.
Creativity can enter into entrepreneurial activity in many ways. The entrepreneur may have a novel
idea for a particular product or service, something that is different from what has been done before and
is likely to be seen as useful or desirable by customers. This is what people typically think of when they
hear the term “creativity” in a business context. Because they believe that creativity refers only to a
high degree of novelty in the generation of the basic idea for the product or service, they may conclude
that creativity has virtually no role in many successful entrepreneurial ventures. However, the novelty
may be found not in the product itself but in the implementation. For example, novelty may appear in
the means for creating or delivering the product - the identification of new market opportunities, or
the organization and the systems that are established for bringing the product to market (Stevenson,
1984; Timmons, 1977; Timmons, Muzyka. Stevenson, G Bygrave. 1987). Additionally, novel and
appropriate solutions might be necessary for marshaling resources required for the undertaking:
indeed, entrepreneurship is often defined as the pursuit of opportunity without regard to the resources
currently controlled (Stevenson & Jarillo, 1990). It is unlikely that a given entrepreneurial venture will

18 Volume 31 Number 1 First Quarter 1997

 Journal of Creative Behavior

be highly creative (extremely novel a s well a s appropriate) along each of these dimensions; in fact,
high degrees of novelty along all dimensions is probably not desirable (Hart, 1995).Nonetheless, suc-
cessful entrepreneurship probably requires a t least o n e of these forms of entrepreneurial creativity.

EXAMPLES S o m e examples of entrepreneurial creativity in its various forms will help to set
the framework for defining the construct:
1. Two unemployed engineers invent a new database management system, write software for it, and
test it. They demonstrate their work to a group of investors, who fund them in the establishment of
a business that sells the system, and who are instrumental in setting u p the infrastructure for the
new business. In this example, the primary creativity lies in the creation of the product itself, the
new database management system. There was apparently less creativity required in finding the
resources or establishing the organization. Note that, if these inventors had not attempted to sell
their new system, they would have exhibited creativity (the production of novel, appropriate solu-
tions to open-ended problems) but not entrepreneurial creativity.
2. A chemist working in a large, well-established firm in the late 1970s becomes frustrated with the
traditional suggestion system for consideration of new product or process ideas. S h e and several
colleagues have made suggestions that received only the most cursory response from superiors.
With encouragement from s o m e of these colleagues, she conceives of a new system for giving an
adequate hearing to new ideas. It involves the preparation of a formal "Idea Memorandum" by the
originator of the idea (with help from a facilitator), review of the Memorandum by a group of within-
company experts suggested by the originator, and subsequent stages of guided idea development
and sponsorship for those ideas receiving favorable review. S h e finds a sponsor for this system after
talking to several high-level managers within the company. Starting with an "Innovation Office" that
consists only of herself and two part-time facilitators, s h e expands within five years to an :'Innova-
tion Network" having offices in eight of the company's global locations. During that tim'e, ideas
flowing through the Innovation Network have spawned a dozen successful new ventures for the
company. Note that this innovation occurred within the context of a well-established organization.
Entrepreneurial creativity was displayed in the implementation of a novel idea that was perceived
a s useful by its "customers" - the employees who had suggestions they wished to develop, and
the company that ultimately benefited from those developed suggestions. Note also that the
entrepreneurship here involved not a new product, but a new system or process that was a valuable
within-company service.
3. An avid wind-surfer realizes that enthusiasts of this sport often waste vast amounts of time going to
the beach without knowing whether wind conditions are optimal, and then waiting for the wind to
change. It becomes clear that, with busy contemporary life-styles, a service alerting wind-surfers to
ideal conditions could add real value to their lives. Partnering with s o m e business-savvy friends, this
entrepreneur creates a paging business through which subscribers are beeped whenever monitors
set u p a t local beaches detect good wind-surfing conditions. Entrepreneurial creativity was dis-
played here in the recognition of a n opportunity to fill a n unarticulated need in the lives of a particu-
lar group of individuals. The novelty can be found in this insight and the service it created, not in the
technology used or the structuring of the business.
4. A businessman with high-tech expertise buys a micro-computer operating system from its inventor.
He then uses personal contacts, ingenious social networking, and expert deal-making skills to
license the system to the major manufacturers of micro-computers. Here, entrepreneurial creativity
was displayed primarily in imagining and implementing a way to deliver this new technology to a
massive market.
5. A small cross-functional "new ventures" team within a large. traditional consumer-products firm
has been spending s o m e of its time on products that are not within the team's official charge. In the
course of this "off-line" work, the team has c o m e up with a n idea for a n improved skincare product.
They have done the initial technical tests, market analysis, and consumer tests to demonstrate the
product's feasibility and potential profitability. The product development cannot proceed, however,
until they convince a Vice President from o n e of the company's sectors that he could gain a unique
competitive advantage in the marketplace by "adopting" the product and providing the resources

19
 Entrepreneurial Creativity Through Motivational Synergy

for its development. Notice that, as i n the second example, this entrepreneurial creativity occurs
within the context of an established, ongoing organization - illustrating that entrepreneurship is not
synonymous with starting a new business. In this example, because the product is only incremen-
tally different from existing products, and because the production/distribution systems could pre-
sumably be easily put in place, entrepreneurial creativity is primarily demonstrated in the team's
ingenuity in finding organizational resources to fund the implementation of the idea.
6. A group of three high-school teachers wants to establish a non-profit foundation to teach business
skills to gifted innercity youth. In an effort to attract funding and other support from local busi-
nesses for their foundation, they develop a campaign that focuses on the positive publicity value of
involvement in this foundation, the likely community improvement that would result from success
of the foundation's efforts, and the potential talent source for local businesses in the stream of
young peop!e who will have completed the foundation's program. Through this effort, the teachers
succeed in securing full funding for the foundation's first three years, as well as the services of
several local business executives who volunteer to work as part-time instructors in the program.
Although this venture was not a for-profit company, entrepreneurial creativity is evident in a num-
ber of the founders' behaviors, particularly their conceptualization of the new service and their
method for attracting resources.
By examining these examples o f what entrepreneurial creativity is, we can also clarify what it is not.
It is not limited to the establishment of new businesses, because it can be found when new enterprises
are established within existing businesses. Moreover, it i s not necessarily present in the creation of any
new business; some significant degree of novelty must be involved, at some stage of the process. For
example, opening a franchise of an existing business, or any other standard operation, with nothing
notably different, would not constitute entrepreneurial creativity - unless significantly novel ideas were
involved in some aspect, such as raising funds or choosing the location. Entrepreneurial creativity is
not present in many of the incremental product or service improvements within established systems or
paradigms, unless some significant novelty is required for marshaling support or effectively imple-
menting the idea. Moreover, even when a truly novel product or service idea i s present, or when there is
a novel insight about a market opport,unity, entrepreneurial creativity does not exist unless the ideas
are implemented in the creation of a new business or enterprise.

DEFINITION With these examples and our definitions of creativity, innovation, and entrepre-
neurship in mind, we can suggest a definition of entrepreneurial creatiuity:
The generation and implementation of novel, appropriate ideas to establish a new ven-
ture (a new business or new program to deliver products or services). The primary
novel, useful ideas may have to do with: (a) the products or services themselves, (b)
identifying a market for the products or services, (c) ways of producing or delivering
the products or services, or (d) ways of obtaining resources to produce or deliver the
products or services.
Notice that, while the definition of entrepreneurial creativity focuses on novel, useful ideas (our
standard definition of creativity), the "entrepreneurial" part of the phrase requires action - the imple-
mentation of those ideas, or innovation. Notice also that entreprcncurial creativity can still exist even
when the product or service is not particularly novel, or when a novel product or service is borrowed or
bought (or perhaps stolen!) from someone else. All that is required i s that novel, appropriate solutions
be applied at some point in the process of creating and bringing the product or service to market.

THE MOTIVATION Research in both the psychology and the business literatures over the past three
FOR CAEATNW decades has documented that motivation varies as a function of several factors
in the work environment, including evaluation expectation, actual performance
feedback, expected reward, autonomy, and the nature of the work itself (e.g., deCharms, 1968: Deci.
1975; Deci G Ryan, 1985; Hackman G Oldham, 1976; 1980; Herzberg. 1966). Moreover, both theory
and empirical research have suggested that human motivation toward work can be categorized into
two distinct types: intrinsic motivation, which arises from the intrinsic value of the work for the indi-
viddal (such as its interest value), and extrinsic motivation, which arises from the desire to obtain
some outcomes (such as rewards) that are apart from the work itself. Although they can both motivate
people to do their work, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can have very different effects on subjective

20
 Journal of Creative Behavior

feelings about the work, eagerness to do the work, and the performance of the work. We believe that
both play an important role in entrepreneurial creativity.
Deci and his colleagues propose that intrinsic motivation arises when individuals feel both self-
determined and competent in their work (Deci, 1975; Deci & Ryan, 1985). Presumably, people will feel
self-determined if they have at least some autonomy in what they do - if, in decharms's (1968) termi-
nology, they feel like "origins" of their behavior rather than "pawns" of other people; people will feel
competent if they obtain feedback that indicates progress in their work, or suggests ways they can
increase their competence. These conditions will be likely to obtain only when the difficulty of the work
matches (or slightly exceeds) the person's skill level. Deci also suggests that self-determination and
competence cannot work to produce intrinsic motivation unless the target task is interesting in some
degree; such interest might arise from skill variety (a variety of skills are required to carry out the task),
task identity (the task is a clearly identified whole), and task significance (the task is perceived as a
meaningful, important one) (cf. Hackman & Oldham, 1976). One psychological theorist proposes that
extremely high levels of intrinsic motivation are marked by such strong interest and involvement in the
work, and by such a perfect match of task difficulty with skill level, that people experience a kind of
psychological "flow," a sense of merging with the activity they are doing (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975).
In our own work, my colleagues and I have adopted definitions of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
that include most concepts proposed by previous theorists.
individuals are intrinsically motivated when they seek enjoyment, interest, satisfaction of
curiosity, selFexpression, or personal challenge in the work.
individuals are extrinsically motivated when they engage in the work in order to obtain some
goal that is apart from &hework itself, or meel a constrain1 that is imposed by an extrinsicsource.
Thus, we base our definitions of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on the individual's perceptions of
the task (as interesting, involving, challenging, and so on) and his or her reasons for engaging in it (as
a means to an extrinsic end, or as an end in itself). If the reasons have to do with the task as a means to
positive, skill-exercising experience or self-expression, then we say that the individual is intrinsically
motivated. If the reasons have to do with the task as a means to some external end, or a response to
some source of external control, then we say that the individual i s extrinsically motivated.
The predominant psychological view proposes that extrinsic motivation works in opposition to in-
trinsic motivation (e.g. Deci, 1971; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Lepper, Greene, & Nisbett, 1973; Lepper &
Greene. 1978). Extrinsic motivation arises when individuals feel driven by something outside of the
work itself, such as promised rewards or expected evaluations. Generally, these theorists propose that,
when strong extrinsic motivators are present for task engagement, intrinsic motivation to do that task
will decline.
Social psychological research (much of it reviewed in Lepper & Greene, 1978) has consistently
demonstrated that intrinsic motivation toward a task (interest and satisfaction in doing the task) can
be temporarily undermined by the experimental imposition of salient extrinsic constraints such as the
promise of a tangible reward or an expert evaluation.
A considerable body of experimental laboratory research over the past 20 years has demonstrated
that creativity is undermined by many of the same extrinsic motivators and extrinsic constraints that
undermine intrinsic motivation (e.g., Amabile, 1979; 1982; 1983; Amabile G Gitomer, 1984; Amabile,
Goldfarb, & Brackfield. 1990; Amabile, Hennessey, & Grossman, 1986; Hennessey, 1989; Koestner,
Ryan, Bernieri. & Holt, 1984; Kruglanski. Friedman. & Zeevi. 1971). On the basis of this work, a simple
theoretical statement suggesting a causal relationship between intrinsic motivation and creativity was
proposed; the original version o f this Intrinsic Motivation Principle of Creativity (Amabile, 1983) stated
that intrinsic motivation is conducive to Creativity, but extrinsic motivation is detrimental. This
theoretical statement was consistent with earlier work by McGraw ( 1978). His suggestion that cogni-
tive flexibility and complexity are highest under strong intrinsic motivation supports the proposition
that creativity depends, in part, on an individual's level of intrinsic motivation for the work. His sugges-
tion that, by contrast, relatively straightforward (or algorithmic) aspects of performance - such as
sheer technical quality - appear to be fostered by extrinsic motivation leads to the proposition that
extrinsic motivation will decrease the probability of novelty in responses.
Our laboratory research has consistently demonstrated a positive relationship between intrinsic
motivation and creativity. It has also demonstrated that the imposition of salient extrinsic motivators or
extrinsic constraints can lead to lower levels of creativity in actual performance - but not to lower
levels of technical quality in the work. Interestingly, technical quality appears to remain strong under
both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

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 Entrepreneurial Creativity Through Motivational Synergy

When we move outside the laboratory and into the real world, of course, complexity increases.
Over the past 12 years, we have examined the work environment differences between high-creativity
projects and low-creativity projects in business organizations, using interviews and a n instrument called
KEYS: Assessing the Climate for Creativity (Amabile, 1995;Amabile, Burnside. & Gryskiewicz, 1995).
We have found that, indeed, many of the extrinsic motivators and extrinsic constraints that we
studied experimentally d o appear to undermine creativity in settings such a s RGD laboratories: win-
lose competition within a n organization, expected negative evaluation of one’s ideas, a focus o n con-
tracted-for rewards, and constraint on how the work is to be done. On the other hand, we found several
other factors that might be construed a s extrinsic motivators operating a s s u p p o r t s to creativity:
reward a n d recognition for creative ideas, clearly defined overall project goals, a n d frequent
feedback on the work. Finally, we did find intrinsically-motivating factors that support creativity:
a degree of autonomy in the work, work that the individual perceives a s positively challenging
and important, and a s e n s e of interest and excitement in the work itself (Amabile, Conti, Coon,
Lazenby, G Herron, 1996; Amabile & S. Gryskiewicz, 1987; Amabile & N. Gryskiewicz, 1989). In other
non-experimental research, such a s a study of professional artists, we have found further evidence of
positive effects of certain kinds of extrinsic motivation. In particular, it appears that creativity is sup-
ported by recognition and rewards that confirm one’s competence or the value of one’s work, and by
rewards that enable one to further pursue intrinsically interesting work (Amabile. Phillips, & Collins, 1993).
Thus, it seems that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation d o not operate in a simple additive fashion
o r in simple opposition. Moreover, we may need to more finely differentiate our concepts of each
motivational type, particularly of extrinsic motivation. It appears that there may be s o m e types of
extrinsic motivators that serve to undermine intrinsic motivation and creativity, but others that serve to
support them. It appears that the original Intrinsic Motivation Principle of Creativity (Amabile. 1983)
was too simple.

MOTIVATIONAL Intrinsic motivators are a n endogenous part of a person’s engagement in the

SYNERGY activity; they arise from the person’s feelings about the activity, and they a r e
necessarily bound up with the work itself. Extrinsic motivators, although they
may b e contingent on the work (like pay for performance) are not a logically inherent part of the work.
Often, extrinsic motivators arise from a n outside source that is intended to control (or can be per-
ceived a s controlling) the initiation or performance of the work, for example: promised reward, praise,
critical feedback, deadlines, surveillance, or specifications on how the work is to b e done. Although
either intrinsic or extrinsic motivation will usually predominate when a given individual approaches a
given task, the t w o motivation types often coexist; it is difficult to imagine work being done in business
settings that is purely intrinsically motivated (although it may be easier to imagine work that is purely
extrinsically motivated). Because the two motivational types so often co-occur. it is especially impor-
tant to consider how they might combine and interact.
Using a conceptualization of motivational synergy. a recent theoretical paper (Arnabile, 1993)
proposes that certain types of extrinsic motivation - those we call “synergistic extrinsic motivators” -
can combine positively with intrinsic motivation, particularly when initial levels of intrinsic motivation
are high. Two psychological mechanisms are proposed for the positive combinations of these seem-
ingly opposite types of motivation.
According to the first mechanism, extrinsics in service of intrinsics, any extrinsic factors that
support one’s sense of competence or enable one’s deeper involvement with the task itself, without
undermining one’s sense of self-determination, should positively add to intrinsic motivation and cre-
ativity; these are the “synergistic extrinsic motivators.” These conceptualizations derive in part from
Deci and Ryan’s proposals concerning “informational” versus “controlling” extrinsic motivators ( 1985).
Rewards that confirm competence without connoting control, rewards that support the development of
competence (providing important directional information by signaling how the individual can achieve
high levels of competence and success), or rewards that enable the individual to d o exciting work, can
serve as synergistic extrinsic motivators.
According to the second mechanism, stage-appropriate motivation (or the motivation-work cycle
match), synergistic extrinsic motivators may serve a special function a t certain stages of the creative
process. The creative process is often described according to four basic stages (with the understand-
ing that individuals d o not necessarily progress through these stages in a uni-directional or stepwise
manner) (cf. Amabile, 1983, 1996; Hogarth, 1980; Stein, 1967; Wallas, 1926; Whiting, 1958).The first
stage is problem identification. during which the problem-solvers recognize, define, and attempt to

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 Journal of Creative Behavior

understand the problem or the opportunity facing them. The second is preparation. during which the
problem-solvers gather information and other resources necessary to tackle the problem or pursue the
opportunity. The third stage is response generation, during which various ideas for solving the prob-
lem or pursuing the opportunity are designed. The fourth stage, Validation and communication,
involves the consideration of the ideas generated, selection among them, and formalization or commu-
nication of the selected approach.
Recall that creativity requires both novelty and appropriateness. As suggested by previous theory
and research (reviewed in Amabile, 1996). the novelty of the outcome is importantly determined in the
first (problem identification) and third (response generation) stages of the creative process; it is here
that radically different insights on the problem or ways of approaching it emerge. Because of the mecha-
nisms by which motivational state appears to influence cognitive processes, these novelty-rich stages
may require intrinsic motivation that is unencumbered by any significant extrinsic motivation. How-
ever, at those stages where the novelty of the work (though still important) is less crucial, the synergis-
tic extrinsic motivators may serve to focus and energize the individual toward getting the job done in an
appropriate. feasible way. Specifically, these external motivators may be useful in carrying the perfor-
mance over the sometimes tedious hurdles of prior preparation (stage 2) and careful validation and
communication of ideas (stage 4). Indeed. although people often do engage in tedious work on activi-
ties that are intrinsically motivated (such as hobbies), it is possible that intrinsic motivation might flag
at these stages in the process. Moreover, if intrinsic motivation does remain strong, these synergistic
extrinsic motivators are unlikely to significantly undermine intrinsic motivation for the work.
In sum, according to the stage-appropriate motivation conceptualization, although both intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation may be present throughout a creative activity, they may be differentially
important at different stages. Because unhampered intrinsic motivation i s so important at the problem
identification and response generation stages, the non-synergistic extrinsic motivators (those connot-
ing control) may be especially harmful at these points. The synergistic extrinsic motivators may be
especially helpful at the preparation and validation/communication stages.
The notion of motivational synergy gives rise to a new Intrinsic Motivation Principle of Creativity
(Amabile, 1996): Intrinsic motivation is conducive to creatioity; controlling extrinsic motivation is
detrimental to creativity, but informational or enabling extrinsic motivation can be conducive,
particularly if initial levels of intrinsic motivation are high.
Social-situational variables can determine the degree of motivational synergy that will be experi-
enced. Most importantly, if external incentives or supports are presented with an implicit or explicit
measure of control, they are likely to undermine intrinsic motivation and creativity. On the other hand,
if they are perceived as a confirmation of competence or as a means to accomplishing something
intrinsically motivating, they are likely to support intrinsic motivation and creativity. Thus, for example,
an investor may weaken entrepreneurial creativity by offering financial support that is accompanied by
salient control measures, but may actually strengthen entrepreneurial creativity by presenting .that
support primarily as a means of enabling the entrepreneurial activity.

ENTREPAENEURIAI It is clear, from reading accounts of successful entrepreneurs, that passion is a

CREATIVITY hallmark of entrepreneurship (e.g., Stevenson, Roberts, C Grousbeck, 1989;
T~AOUGH Timmons, 1994). In other words, entrepreneurial creativity appears to require
MOTIVATIONA1 high levels of intrinsic motivation for tackling the problem or pursuing the oppor-
SYNERGY tunity in a novel way. Nonetheless, appropriateness plays a crucial role in entre-
-
preneurial creativity in particular, appropriateness to market realities. Because
entrepreneurial creativity requires implementation of novel, appropriate ideas in the world of business,
synergistic extrinsic motivators may be especially important. Attention to the outside world - to what
others are doing, to what others want, to what others will recognize and reward - is necessary to gather
the information that will lead to commercial success. However, if those extrinsic motivators begin to
make the entrepreneur feel controlled by external circumstances or constraints, and if they therefore
begin to undermine the original intrinsic excitement of the work, they are likely to undermine creativity
and reduce the possibility of success.
Many entrepreneurs, perhaps most entrepreneurs, strike out on their own in some venture because
they desire to gain or retain control over their own destinies (Timmons, 1994); consider the first
example presented earlier, where two unemployed engineers build their business around a new data-
base management system. Thus, entrepreneurs are likely to create circumstances in which their sense
of self-determination, which began at a high level, will be relatively difficult to undermine. Because the

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 Entrepreneurial Creativity Through Motivational Synergy

entrepreneurs themselves have decided to set out on the new venture, they are unlikely to feel con-
trolled by rewards or evaluations -
at least at first, while the enterprise is still theirs. Under these cir-
cumstances, extrinsic motivators may be likely to operate in service of intrinsic motivation (the first
mechanism of motivational synergy). For example, the promise of significant financial gain, an extrin-
sic motivator which can be seen as part of the “game” of business success, may serve to engage and
involve entrepreneurs more deeply in the problems they must solve - whether those problems require
the perfection of a new technology, the compilation of massive amounts of market data, or the presen-
tation of a persuasively communicated business plan to potential investors. On the other hand, if entre-
preneurs find themselves in circumstances where their sense of self-determination is undermined for -
example, where they have given management control of their business to investors - they may well
begin to cognitively and emotionally disengage from the specific problems to be solved in the busi-
ness, and their creativity may decline.
Stage-appropriate motivation (the second mechanism of motivational synergy) should be particu-
larly important in entrepreneurial creativity. Recall that entrepreneurial creativity can be demonstrated
in the products or services themselves, in the identification of a market for the products or services, in
ways of producing and delivering the products or services, or in ways of obtaining resources to pro-
duce or deliver the products or services. Each of these aspects of the entrepreneurial process can be
considered as a candidate for its own creative activity, as a subprocess to the overall venture creation.
As noted earlier, entrepreneurial creativity can be found in any of these subprocesses. However, entre-
preneurial success appears to require some degree of replication of previous approaches, rather than
novelty in all of these realms simultaneously (Hart, 1995). High degrees of (appropriate) novelty in
some aspects of new venture creation must be coupled with high degrees of sameness in others. When
they need to generate truly novel ideas, entrepreneurs will, ideally, feel intrinsically motivated - almost
captivated by the challenge of the problem they must solve or the opportunity they must seize. How-
ever, all entrepreneurial ventures require considerable periods of painstaking and often tedious atten-
tion to quality and to detail, during which intrinsic motivation may begin to falter and synergistic extrinsic
motivation may be all that keeps the entrepreneur going. Moreover, extrinsic motivators such as exter-
nal evaluation or bottom-line success can provide important competence information that will improve
future efforts. To many entrepreneurs, wealth gained through success of their own enterprise is not
merely an end in itself; it is also a prized signal of having successfully met a challenge that they set for
themselves (Timmons, 1994). Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the extrinsic motivators of tan-
gible reward - such as winning external funding or achieving generous profit margins - will enable the
entrepreneur to continue playing the game. This synergistic extrinsic motivation is captured well by
Tracy Kidder (1981), in his description of a group of computer engineers creating a new machine:
They didn’t have to name the bigger game. Everyone who had been on the team for a
while knew what it was called. It didn’t.involve stock options. Rasala and Alsing and
many of the team had long since decided that they would never see more than token
rewards of a material sort. The bigger game was “pinball.” “You win one game, you get
to play another. You win with this machine, you get to build the next.” Pinball was what
counted. (Kidder, 1981. p. 228)
Consider the ways in which synergy between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation might have sup-
ported the entrepreneurial creativity described in some of the examples presented earlier.
The chemist who initiated the Innovation Network in her large, traditional company was undoubt-
edly quite intrinsically motivated by the desire to develop her own ideas and the ideas of her colleagues.
But it is likely that she responded to many extrinsic motivators along the way, particularly in working
out the details of the new system, and getting it accepted by the organization. At these points in the
process, she probably thought carefully about how others would react to various methods for present-
ing the innovation, and which approaches would be most likely to be rewarded by the allocation of
additional resources.
The wind-surfer, initially inspired by a deep intrinsic interest in the sport itself, was motivated to
establish a workable, profitable system by the possibility of significant financial rewards.
When the high-school teachers came up with their novel idea to teach business skills to gifted
inner-city youth, they were likely driven by the personal satisfaction they derived from seeing students
develop. However, in successfully developing and implementing plans for setting u p and funding
the foundation, they were probably more motivated by extrinsic concerns such as the approval of
local businesses and the need to support themselves once they left their tenured jobs in the public-
school system.

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 Journal of Creative Behavior

IWLICRTIONS FOR The new conceptualizations presented in this paper fall into two broad catego-
ENTREPRENEURIRl ries: the definition of entrepreneurial creativity, and the synergistic combination
of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in entrepreneurial creativity.
By definition, entrepreneurial creativity involves the implementation of novel, appropriate busi-
ness ideas. Because of this requirement, entrepreneurial creativity is likely to require a larger skill and
experience set than any o n e individual will typically possess. This bears several implications for the
predominance of group activities over individual activities in this particular form of creativity:
In entrepreneurial creativity, team activities will predominate over individual activities. Team activi-
ties will become more predominant a s the scope of the venture increases.
Within a n industry, success in entrepreneurial creativity will be more likely in team undertakings
than in solo undertakings, even taking into account the level of financial resources initially
controlled by the entrepreneur(s).
Entrepreneurial creativity is more likely to involve group activity than non-business forms of creativity.
The notion of motivational synergy also bears several implications about entrepreneurial creativity
and the conditions under which it will be stimulated or undermined. These implications derive from the
proposition that high levels of both intrinsic motivation and synergistic extrinsic motivation may be
particularly important in this form of creativity. They also derive from the following specifications about
motivation: (a) that intrinsic motivation is most important for entrepreneurial creativity a t those stages
of the new venture creation process where novel solutions are most desirable; (b) that controlling
extrinsic motivation is detrimental; and (c) that synergistic (informational or enabling) extrinsic mot!:
vation can be conducive - particularly a t those stages of the new venture creation process where
feasible, appropriate solutions are most desirable. Each of these implications can be viewed a s hypoth-
eses to be tested in future research on entrepreneurial creativity. If borne out by reliable research
findings, they can be considered a s prescriptions for entrepreneurial management.
An entrepreneur's degree of management control in his or her venture should be directly related to
the level of creativity that h e or s h e subsequently displays in that venture. Significant changes in
control should be followed by creativity changes in the s a m e direction, even when the individual's
nominal position within the firm has not changed.
Compared to successful nonentrepreneurial individuals within business settings, successful entre-
preneurs will display higher, and more nearly equal, levels of intrinsic and synergistic extrinsic mo-
tivation.
In contrast to unsuccessful entrepreneurs, successful entrepreneurs will be more focused on intrin-
sic motivators during those points in time when novel solutions to problems are most important,
and will be more focused on extrinsic motivators when appropriate, feasible solutions are most
important.
In organizations with higher levels of entrepreneurial creativity, compared to those with lower levels,
intrinsic motivation will be more salient in discussions of the work and reported feelings about the
work. Moreover, in these organizations, synergistic extrinsic motivators will predominate over non-
synergistic extrinsic motivators.
Levels of entrepreneurial creativity will increase in organizations that increasingly focus their
employees on intrinsic motivation, and increasingly use synergistic extrinsic motivators over non-
synergistic extrinsic motivators.
Ultimately, to be successful, entrepreneurs must manage their own motivation a s well a s the moti-
vation of those they recruit to join them in their ventures. Similarly, if they wish to foster the innovation
that arises from internal entrepreneurial efforts, managers of established organizations must create
environments that will support each of the forms of entrepreneurial creativity. The most important first
step is to recognize that creativity is not the free-form generation of haphazard, random, often bizarre
(though sometimes brilliant) ideas. Moreover, it is not limited to the arts or to the invention of radically
new products. Rather, it is the generation of novel and useful ideas in a n y form of human activity.
Entrepreneurial creativity goes o n e step beyond "ordinary" creativity; it involves action, the implemen-
tation of those novel ideas in s o m e aspect of new venture creation. Because it requires novelty that will
work in the real world of the marketplace, entrepreneurial creativity most likely requires people to be
focused both on the demands and constraints of that real world, and on the passion they feel for the
new idea they have conceived.

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 Entrepreneurlal Creativity Through Motivational Synergy

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Dr. Teresa M. Amabile. Harvard University. Graduate School of Business. Soldiers Field, Boston. MA 02163. 6174956871.

Author Note
Iwish to thank the colleagues who provided valuable suggestions on this manuscript: Myra Hart. Michael Mumford, Howard Stevenson.
and three anonymous reviewers.

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