Can the office environment stimulate a manager's creativity?

Abstract

This article explores whether the manager's physical office work environment can stimulate the manager's creativity. A total of 60 managers from a large manufacturing company participated in the study. They rated the creativity potential and physical elements of office environments shown in 25 photographs. The results indicate that offices differ in terms of creativity potential. Compared to offices with low creativity potential, offices with high creativity potential have lower complexity, more plants, bright lighting conditions, windows, cooler colors, and a computer facility. The results suggest that a good interior design of manager's office environment could stimulate a manager's creativity and could therefore contribute to an organization's innovation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.